Fade to Black
by Hylian Shadow
Summary: Post OoT and MM. Link returns to Hyrule after eight years away to find Lake Hylia frozen and Zelda nervous about her dreams. Is a Hero greater than the sum of his parts? What if the parts have minds of their own?
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer:** The Legend of Zelda and all of its characters are property of Nintendo. _

_Post Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask. Link has been away from Hyrule for eight years. Zelda worries about him so strongly that she's appearing in his dreams, begging him to return home. But the Link she once knew isn't the same as the Link who is coming home. Sometimes, the "innocent" turn out to be the source of evil, and what one thinks is an enemy turns out to be a powerful ally._

**Fade to Black**  
**Prologue:**

Princess Zelda stood in the Temple of Time, silent and alone. Eight years ago, she dreamed of a battle that she fought with a boy from the forest. He and she sent a very evil man away and saved Hyrule from his threat. She knew it was more than a dream, but she didn't know much else beyond that, except for three names: Ganondorf, Zelda, Link.

Impa didn't have an explanation for her when she spoke of the dream later, saying only that "Perhaps it will become clearer with time."

Zelda couldn't forget the dream, no matter how much she'd tried. Then one day a boy had snuck into the castle, into her garden. He looked just like the boy from her dream.

They'd both gasped as they'd seen the other's face. She didn't know him, and yet she did. Judging by the look on his face, he felt similarly. Then they had lunged at each other, crying and hugging and trying to say a thousand words at once.

He remembered. She remembered. Between the two of them, they were able to piece some of it together. She was Zelda and he was Link, and they'd defeated Ganondorf... somehow. Then they'd both gone back in time to when it all began. That was all they remembered. There was something else, something more that neither could remember, but...

It didn't matter. If he remembered it too, it couldn't be a dream! For several weeks, they played and talked, Link sneaking into the castle every morning and out in the evening, never once getting caught.

But one day she awoke to the feeling that something was very different. Today was a day of destiny, although she couldn't explain where she got the feeling from.

He wore his sword and shield like he always did, but he also had something bulky over his shoulder.

"Link...?"

"I... I have to go, Princess."

"Go? Go where?"

He looked sad, hurt, betrayed. "I don't know... but I can't stay here. Something." He stared at the object over his shoulder for a moment. "Something about the other time. I can't stay."

Her face fell. So this was what she'd felt. "Where will you go?"

"I'll figure something out."

"Will you ever come back?"

He smiled. "Of course I will. I have to go _today_, but tomorrow, maybe I can come back. I won't leave you by yourself forever."

She giggled at that. "Then... wait." She ran out of the garden and then returned, holding what she'd grabbed out to him. "Here, take this with you."

"The Ocarina of Time? I... I can't!"

"You had it with you in the fight with Ganon, right? Take it with you. Please? As a way to remember me?"

He nodded and took the instrument, wrapping it with cloth and tucking it into the pack slung over his shoulder. Yes, that was what that was. "I won't forget you."

"And I won't forget you. Travel safe... Remember, the Goddesses are watching you."

"And you as well, Zelda," he said, waving sadly before turning and running out of the garden.

Seven years later, the dream returned, bringing with it all the details of every battle and struggle. She awoke remembering everything, and she had to wonder: did Link remember, too, wherever he was? Was he safe?

Another long year went by with no sign of her hero. Zelda worried, but she kept reminding herself of what Link did in the other time, and that he said he would be back someday. He would be back.

However, he wasn't back in time. She shivered, wrapping her arms around her and looking up at the statues of the Goddesses that stood before the Door of Time. She'd just heard the news a week ago, at most. Lake Hylia was frozen solid. No one had an explanation. Her first thought had been that it was Ganondorf returning, but no, it didn't feel like him.

Whatever the reason, it scared her. She wanted her hero back. She wanted Link home.

Every day since then, she'd come to the Temple to pray. Every night since then, she'd tried to send a vision to him through dreams, to tell him to come home, that Hyrule was in danger.

She still hadn't received any kind of answer. Zelda finished her prayers and went solemnly back to the castle, then to bed.

That night she dreamed again.

She stood out in a field. She could see Link walking her way, a long tattered cloak flowing behind him in the breeze. He didn't seem to notice her.

He walked up and stopped beside her. "What do you want?" His words were harsh but his voice was soft, just like she remembered it.

"Link, come home. Hyrule needs you."

"Does it? I don't know."

"Link, please! I miss you! Come home!"

He met her gaze briefly. "I don't think you understand. I don't think Hyrule needs _me_."

"What?"

He shook his head. "Never mind. I can't expect you to understand." And with that, he turned and walked away. "The Hero of Time isn't that anymore."

"What?" She wanted to run to him, to make him explain that, but he was gone.

She woke up hopeful but very, very confused.

Meanwhile, to the west of Hyrule, a wanderer was making his way eastward.


	2. Chapter 1: Whispers

_Revised version posted 12 January 2008_

* * *

She came to him in his dreams, a face he'd spent eight long years trying to forget. Her voice, soft and mournful, always whispered the same thing: "Link, please. Come home." Nothing more.

Perhaps it made sense to someone who had a home, but he was a wanderer with no place to really call home. Yet he remembered her, and he remembered where she was from -- and he, before his long quest had begun -- so he knew where it was he was being called. Hyrule.

Then, as suddenly as they had started, the dreams stopped. He couldn't decide if that was a good sign or a bad one. Had she stopped because something had happened to her? Or had she merely decided that her message had gotten through? Had she given up? No, he knew it couldn't be the last; beyond that, there was but one way to find out. And at the moment, he would much rather fight Ganondorf and Majora at the same time than see her again...

...though if nothing else, he could at least see how the kingdom was doing without the King of Evil's influence.

**Fade to Black**  
**Chapter One: Whispers**

Crowds and cities had fascinated me once, back when I was a child. Since then, I'd grown to loathe the attention the crowds always seemed to lavish over travelers, especially the ones who stood out. I always stood out, no matter where I went. So I tried to take the easy way out and simply avoid cities.

Except right now I couldn't. I needed a new shield; the old one, one that had resembled my old Hero's Shield, shattered a few weeks earlier after I blocked an Iron Knuckle's axe out of desperation. It had worked -- I survived -- but now I needed a new shield. It had been my hope that I could make it all of the way back to Hyrule before I needed to restock, but I'd grown far too used to having a shield to trust myself to fight for long without one. Knowing me, sooner or later, I was going to try to block an attack with a shield that didn't exist.

So I stopped in the city of Saphira. It wasn't the largest of cities, but at least it had smiths. Shame I didn't have the inclination to wait and have another Hero's Shield built; I liked the design. No matter, a shield was a shield, and I could get a Hylian Shield when I got back.

I _was_ annoyed that I had to take my hood off. I liked my hood. It didn't stop people from talking, of course, but it did give me some control over what they were talking _about_.

I scowled as I roamed the marketplace, trying to find an armorer who did good quality work. People were already starting to point and stare. _Damned gossip, anyway._

"He's not from around here, is he?"

"Look at his shadow! It's too dark... and too big! No one else's is even half that size."

_I didn't realize size was that important._ I bit my lip; there was no reason to think like that.

"Enough about his shadow; do you see him? He looks so young, but his hair's completely white." _Old man._

I turned to face my shadow and quickly stomped the ground before continuing on. Finally, I found an armorer and looked over his selection. Most of the shields had little or no decoration, but one had the image of a roaring lion painted on it. Not as pretty as the Hero's Shield, but it would do.

Only after picking it up did I see the problem: the shield was designed to be held in the left hand. I sighed. Was I one of the only people in existence who _didn't _favor his right hand?

"Excuse me, sir," I said, turning towards the armorer. "Would it be possible to alter this? I favor my left hand..."

The armorer, a Goron in size but a man in shape, looked up. "I 'spose I could. It'll cost extra."

It always did. "That's not a problem, sir. How long will it take?" Couldn't haggle, could I?

"Eh, hour or two; it'll be ready before sunset f'sure."

I nodded before wandering out of the shop and over to a nearby fountain, staring down at the water. It wouldn't be much longer before I reached Hyrule. Eight years since I left... I was slightly older now than I had been when I helped banish Ganon to the Sacred Realm -- though I doubted that realm was very sacred now. Older physically, anyway; mentally, I felt ageless. It had been an odd feeling the first few times I really paid attention to it, feeling so much older than my body, but I'd learned to live with it.

_Whatever. Damned old man._

I smirked. Master Sword or no, the Hero of Time was still the Hero of Time. I rocked my weight to one side, feeling the pouch holding the Ocarina shift on my belt. It was amusing how well that little instrument still worked, no matter how far I was from Hyrule. Apparently Time was still mine to play with as I wished, even if it was on a limited scale.

_Thank the Goddesses we're one of the good guys._

"Quiet," I whispered, stomping on my shadow again. My reflection winked at me. "Behave yourself, you idiot."

_Want me to stop? Then stop standing around reminiscing. You're boring me._

My smirk broadened. If that was the case... I'd been a hero twice, destroying one great evil with the Master Sword and another with the power of a god. Reality looked a bit different from the other side.

In the water, my reflection rolled his eyes and scowled. _Will you shut up already?_

Eight years ago, my reflection attacked me in the Water Temple. After I won, my shadow had all but vanished. Right this moment, my shadow was so _present_ that it seemed more like a living thing that just happened to follow me as a shadow.

_...I don't _follow_ you. Bastard._

"What's he looking at?" someone in the crowd said, just loud enough for me to hear.

I didn't look that weird, did I? _Yes._ I kicked at my shadow. "Quiet."

Nearby, a group of townspeople were swapping rumors about the "shadow-phantom" that was slowly making its way eastward. This was another reason I tended to avoid cities; every city, it seemed, had a variation of the shadow-phantom. From what I'd been able to gather, the monster was a man head and shoulders above a Goron who had a bigger sword and an even bigger shadow. He had pale skin and hair and the eyes of a god, and his shadow supposedly broke away from him to attack people.

_You forgot the "shadow eating people" part; that's the best part._

"Will you just shut up while we're here?" I hissed.

I wasn't taller than a Goron; I was average height. And my sword was a typical longsword. True, I wasn't "dark" or "tan", but I wasn't "pale" either. I got sun; I just didn't tan easily. As for my eyes, no, they weren't the eyes of a god; they were the eyes of Time. Or so Zelda had told me once, in a different lifetime, in that brief time we had together that wasn't spent acting against Ganondorf. She had said my eyes were the color of the Master Sword... the color of Time.

And my shadow didn't eat people.

_I could, if you like._

I rolled my eyes. What was next? That I roamed the land in search of blood?

_No, you idiot; _I _roam the land in search of blood!_

I snorted before turning around and sitting on the edge of the fountain, glaring down at my shadow. I knew the rumors were about me; it was more than a little obvious... except they were just that: rumors. Not that that simple fact ever stopped anyone.

"I heard that if he looks in your eyes, you see your own death."

"Well, _I _heard that if he meets your gaze, his shadow will eat you that night."

"I heard that when he looks you in the eye, he's taking over your mind."

_That's a new one; I should remember that._

With a soft growl, I turned my attention back to my reflection. Why did everyone keep saying I had white hair? My hair was silvery blond. Yes, it was pale, but it still wasn't white. Maybe it was because I wore dark colors that it seemed to be white... Although that didn't make that much sense, either, since my tunic and my hat were silver-blue; then again, everything else I wore was black, and my hooded traveling cloak was black, so my hair would seem light.

Never mind; I wasn't going to spend the afternoon arguing with myself about my hair.

_If you're that worried about it, get a pair of earrings that is _white_. Then maybe people can keep it straight._

What was wrong with my silver earrings? I crossed my arms and sat back down.

"He doesn't look all that tough, if he's the phantom. What's he going to do, glare me to death?"

I glanced up as the speaker started walking towards me. He was a large, burly man, with a small, weak shadow that seemed to cling to anything that might make it seem just a little bigger. Shame how many living souls needed healing.

"There's a toll for using the market, stranger, so pay up."

_I can take it. Let me at it!_

I shrugged and stood up, facing the man. "I think not."

"Look, fool. You pay me, or this gets ugly."

Nothing but a bully. I didn't tolerate bullies kindly. "If you insist on fighting, then I'll fight you."

He sneered and charged at me. I started whistling. It wasn't as effective if I didn't use the Ocarina, but it wouldn't take much of an effect to...

He threw a punch; I easily sidestepped. He drew his blade and swung it at my head; I ducked, deciding it wasn't worth drawing my sword to parry. He continued trying to attack me, but I dodged each and every attack, not that it was particularly difficult with time slowed down. I wasn't paying him much heed, instead letting myself get distracted by the world around me; laggy, distorted, out of sync. It had been far too long since I'd last done this --

-- he caught my stomach with a wild swing of his blade. Luckily for me, it was only the flat of the blade, but the blow still knocked the wind out of me, ending my whistling. Damn. I flipped backwards, landing on the edge of the fountain, wishing that the heat in my face was all from exertion even though I knew it wasn't.

_Got careless, didn't you? This is why you should let me handle it; I cut right to the chase._

"I'm the better fighter here, fool. Now pay up and I'll let you go," the man said, holding up his blade.

"You haven't noticed that I'm not fighting you, have you?" I said, my voice low and raspy.

_Intimidating! Or at least it must be to those who don't know you do that when you try to talk while you're winded. _

I shot a quick glare down at my shadow. "Fine, then," I rasped, more to my shadow than my opponent. "We'll do this your way."

_That's more like it!_

He lunged at me again, but I dodged, this time twisting to the side so our shadows crossed. I continued moving for several steps, partly to distance myself from him and partly to regain my balance after a sudden, jerky movement against my feet.

"His shadow's gone!" someone in the crowd gasped.

I didn't wait. Instead, I took full advantage of my opponent's frantic searching for his shadow and used the chaos to disappear as best as I could into the crowd. I headed straight for the armorer's, where thankfully my shield was ready. With that taken care of, and more excitement in the city than I really cared to deal with, I had no reason to be in Saphira anymore. I headed straight for the gate and thankfully, managed to leave the city without causing even more of a disturbance.

I wanted to go home, or at least to one of the places that were close enough. I was ready to see Hyrule again.

The grasslands were a much needed change from the noisy city behind me. The dry grasses crunched beneath my boots as I walked, my hood still off. I traveled east; the sun set behind me, casting my shadow out before me, long and thick and dark. And moving; it writhed and distorted, like two shadows fighting.

Once I was safely away from the city, I stopped atop a hill and pulled out my ocarina, playing a slow, gentle melody as the fight continued. The man's shadow melted away, some of it fading while the rest dissipated as a cloud of shadowy mist. All of the grass the mist covered became sickly and withered at the very touch. The shadow would return to its owner, and hopefully with his soul healed, he'd stop being such a bully, though I couldn't know for certain.

Still, it was a shame the Song of Healing didn't work on grass...

_Since when were you worried about grass? It's _grass_. You're not going to eat it._

I sighed. "The grass did nothing wrong; it was merely here. And we're out of the city now; you can talk, Shadow."

Shadow laughed. "Good. Well, then, you should've waited until we found a bare patch of rock, shouldn't you? I could easily have held it off."

I made a soft, noncommittal "hmm" deep in my throat. I knew he could, because I knew I could. "That still doesn't mean I feel like walking most of the way to Hyrule with that thing along for the ride. I've had my fair share of restless spirits attached to me already. Besides, it's bad enough that I have you following me around like a lost puppy."

"Whatever. Look, if you'd quit wandering around such superstitious people, Time, I wouldn't need to "follow" you all the time, now would I?"

He had a point, but I wasn't about to tell him that. He was already too cocky. "They aren't superstitious. Everything that has form casts a shadow. So when something that has form _doesn't_, it appears unnatural."

"Pfft, whatever. Unnatural. Such a stupid word. "Not natural." We aren't "not natural". We're just not exactly normal. It's not like the people of Termina ever gave a damn about it."

I shook my head. "The people of Termina had more important things to worry about when they first met me, and by the time anyone noticed that my shadow was practically non-existent, they already knew me as a "good kid." And I know Kafei believed that helping destroy the moon is how I lost my shadow.

"As for not being normal, do you just get some perverse pleasure out of reminding me of that? Sometimes I think I would have been better off trying to fight Majora on my own. Look, if you're that tired of playing follow the leader --"

"Even though _I'm _currently the one leading?"

"Quiet, you. Point is, I don't plan on going near any cities between here and Hyrule, and that's still three weeks' travel or more from here. So if it will make you stop your incessant complaining..."

"All I need to know!" And with that, my shadow rose off the ground and wrapped itself around and through me, Shadow and Time rejoining to form the man better known as Link.

I stretched, readjusting to my form, and then pulled off my cloak before folding it up and tucking it away in my pack. Three weeks until I was in Hyrule. My homeland. I should be happy at that thought, right?

Then why did I have the feeling that something was wrong?

xXx

"_Link! Something's wrong! Your shadow's gone!"_

_I whirl around at the sound of Navi's voice and spot a figure standing under the dead little tree, shrouded in shadows. He laughs evilly and starts towards me, and that's when I realize that he isn't shrouded in shadows; he's _made_ of shadows. And aside from that somewhat important detail..._

_He looks exactly like me._

_I open my mouth to try to say something -- a mix of a curse and a demand for its name -- but I never get the chance. He lunges at me. I block the swing and lash out with my own sword, watching in shock as he perfectly mimics my move._

_I'm fighting my own shadow. I'm fighting myself. What kind of magic is this?_

_My sword is useless. I frantically dig in my pack, searching for something that maybe he can't copy, and find something big and heavy. Granted, he's my shadow, not a dragon, but still... the Megaton hits hard._

_I'm right on both counts, thankfully, and eventually I defeat him. He fades away with a loud yell, and Navi immediately flies over and starts checking me for injuries. I've got several; I couldn't dodge everything, and I'd been forced to lure him to me and counter his attacks with my hammer. The little fairy flits around me, bandaging my wounds as best she can._

_I'm battered and bleeding, but that doesn't matter. That's nothing new. What _is _new is that I don't have a shadow anymore. _

_Somehow, I can't blame this on Ganondorf, much as I want to do exactly that. This doesn't seem like his magic. This doesn't seem... right. Was I supposed to defeat my shadow? Why do I feel so vulnerable now? Why do I feel like I just killed part of myself?_

_There isn't time to dwell on that, so I gather my gear and, despite Navi pleading for me to rest, head for the now unbarred door. I've got a Sage to awaken..._


	3. Chapter 2: Homecoming

_Revised version posted 12 January 2008_

* * *

Majora cackled in triumph, its inhuman voice booming off the walls.

He finally found the strength to force himself back up onto his feet. The mask felt too loose on his face, but that didn't matter now.

His mind reeled, trying to come up with something, _anything_ that could help him. A battle from the Time That Wasn't, a battle from the Water Temple. His shadow had come to life and attacked him. What if he could do that now, except that now the shadow could fight beside him instead of against him? Could Majora handle two Links at once?

Someone, anyone, please! Help him just this once!

Somehow his desperate prayer went through. He felt and saw strange movement, looking down just in time to see his shadow break free and lunge at Majora. Not wanting to waste his chance, he grabbed his sword and charged, barely noticing as the two halves of his mask fell off to clatter to the floor behind him.

Majora staggered back, injured. Link didn't know why, but he had a strong urge to play his ocarina... He pulled the instrument out and let his fingers move as they wished, noting halfway through he was playing the Song of Healing.

And Majora screamed. And screamed. And screamed.

**Fade to Black**  
**Chapter Two: Homecoming**

I idly poked at the coals from last night's fire, watching a few sparks fly off into the early morning sky. This place made me feel uneasy, although I didn't know exactly why. The air felt weird. The ground felt weird. The night had been unusually quiet, empty of all the animal sounds I was used to hearing.

Instead, the only animal sounds I heard were shuffling and strange moans and grunts that reminded me far more of the dungeons I prowled than any grassland I traveled. I didn't know what made those noises, as the noises stayed in the distance and I had no desire to leave my fire.

I poked at the coals again. There were mountains far to the east. If I had my location right, it was Hyrule. Somewhere along the ridge between the Haunted Wasteland and Lake Hylia, if I wanted to be slightly more specific about, not that the exact place mattered. It was Hyrule. I hadn't realized how much I missed my homeland until now, but sitting there looking at the hazy form of those mountains in the twilight, I felt homesick.

Eight years away. Had it been that long? No, longer -- I tended to ignore the weeks I spent in that near-endless time loop in Termina, but those weeks still passed for me. Try as I might, I couldn't ignore the time.

I put a hand to my forehead and sighed. I felt fevered. I'd been a little lightheaded last time, but it was worse this morning. This place was making me sick, and I didn't even know why. I needed to get out of here. If it was something about this place that was doing this, then getting away was really the only thing that would help. I closed my eyes for a second; just a few more minutes rest, and then I'd get out of here...

"Can we go now, or must I carry you back to Hyrule?"

I opened my eyes and glared up at Time. Must've fallen asleep, but why did I split? Whatever; it didn't really matter. I did feel slightly better, less ready-to-faint and more dizzy.

"Can we _go_?"

I sat up and scowled at him before muttering "Five more minutes." And then I started pulling my hair into a ponytail. I just didn't get it; if everything else about me stayed constant during merge and split, why did I never keep my damned ponytail? Link had a ponytail, albeit a small one, and since Time didn't have hair long enough to pull back, why couldn't I just get Link's ponytail by default?

"Stop complaining about your hair and get up. I'm tired of standing around." Time already had his cloak on. What was it about that damned piece of cloth that he loved so much? Maybe it was some kind of metaphor, flowing cloth for flowing time, or some such thing.

"_Shadow_," he snapped. "This is not the time to turn poetic. Get up."

"It hasn't been five minutes yet!"

"Yes, it has. Let's go. I don't like this place."

Damn it. "Shouldn't we take care of the fire?"

He sighed. "I already have. Unlike a certain someone, I've been awake."

I climbed to my feet. "Just because _you're_ in such a hurry... Fine, fine, fine. I'm moving!" I said that last bit in a sing-song voice, simply because I knew it would piss him off. It did, too; I heard him growl behind me. Good. If he wanted to be in such a bad mood this morning, I'd be more than happy to return the favor.

We started eastward; I was in the lead. I hadn't been asleep for very long; the sun was still low in the eastern sky. After a little while, I got tired of the sun shining directly into my face and started walking backwards. It was more fun this way; the shadows of the tall stalks of grass danced and waved as the stalks swayed in the breeze. Sometimes I wished I had a shadow that could move like that, but at the same time... nah, I liked being a shadow.

At least it was a beautiful day. A few clouds floated lazily overheard while the westerly winds brought faint but familiar scents from the east. I stopped, turning towards the east and taking a deep breath. Ah, to smell Hyrule again.

Not just Hyrule though -- the dirt and the grass, as well as more than one person, a horse, wood, and straw. The people and the wagon were close, too.

"I see people," Time said softly. "A wagon."

"Okay, good for you; I smell them. So what?"

He growled deep in his throat. For whatever reason, it made me remember the time Tatl nagged at me to hurry one time too many and I trapped her in an empty bottle for an entire three-day cycle. Sure, she didn't talk to me for another three cycles, but it had been worth it. I got the first real night's sleep I'd had in Termina.

"They might need help, Shadow. Whatever made us sick might be affecting them."

"Oh-_kay_," I said, crossing my arms and turning around so I could scowl at him. "How do you know they aren't out hunting the shadow-phantom? Or that they're not bandits? They might just kill you and steal all your gear."

"They're coming from the south. All the places with the shadow-phantom stories are west of here. I highly doubt they're hunting us. And I have yet to see bandits who travel in the middle of the day on a wagon."

"Hunting _you_, you mean. All they ever see of me is your extra-large, extra-dark shadow. And who knows about the wagon? You know as well as I do that there aren't many people out here; who'd see them?"

"For one, bandits prefer stealth. I figured you of all people would be aware of that. For another, it's just as well no one ever sees you; you'd terrify them."

"What was that, old man?"

Time shrugged, turning his attention to something behind me. "I'm merely making an observation. If you haven't noticed, not many people have red eyes."

"Sheikah do."

He sighed. "And when was the last time you saw a Sheikah?"

"I've heard people talking about them! The last one I saw was Impa."

"Exactly. Someone who looks like you do isn't exactly normal. Besides, if they saw you, there would be a good chance someone would notice that you lack a shadow. And unlike you, I can't pretend to be yours."

I took a deep breath, trying to come up with a good comeback, but the wagon was getting close enough that its riders could hear us. So I settled on a soft "Cocky bastard."

Time just sighed and shook his head.

"Ho, wanderers! What brings you out to the Grasslands?" the driver called, slowing the horse. "Don't see many people out here this time of year."

"We're just passing through," Time replied.

Damn. Of course he'd answer first; I would have said we were hunting the shadow-phantom. He sucked in a quick breath.

_Why must you act so immature?_ his voice said in my head. I grinned. Because it annoyed him so much, of course.

"You two brothers?" the driver asked. The passenger eyed me warily, his hand sliding down to the hilt of the knife on his belt.

"You could say that," I answered. Someone was being paranoid, wasn't he? I idly scratched at my right elbow, for no other reason other than to get my hand near the blade hidden in my gauntlet.

Behind me, Time cleared his throat. "Has anything unusual happened around here?" I turned as he spoke and saw his hand twitch backwards slightly, ready to grab his sword.

"Nope," the driver said, "can't say it has. There's not much out here 'cept some scattered farms."

"That's good to hear. So no strange creatures roaming around or people getting attacked?" Time chuckled softly. "The townspeople must just be jumpy, then."

I really wished he'd _tell_ _me_ when he decided to lie about things. I rocked my weight to my other foot. "Good to hear."

"That would depend on what you call a creature!" the passenger snapped, standing up and glaring at me. "What manner of evil are you?"

Why did this not surprise me? "I'm a Sheikah, _obviously."_

"Obviously? Sheikah don't have black hair!"

"Hair can be dyed. I've learned it's best to keep some things... hidden."

_That doesn't even make sense, Shadow. _Shut up.

The passenger kept staring at me. "Yet your brother isn't a Sheikah?"

I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could. My turn to come up with a story. "We're half-brothers. Our mother was from Triar." I knew there was a reason I remembered city names. "His father was from Saphira. Mine was a traveling Sheikah."

For a moment, I didn't think they'd fall for it. But they did; the passenger eased back down to his seat, his posture relaxing. But he kept his hand on the hilt of his knife, and his eyes never left me.

"May I ask where you're heading?"

"East," I said with another shrug. "It's as good a direction as any."

"You don't want to go east."

I raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"

"Because _he_ lives to the east," the driver said, shuddering.

Time sounded about as impressed as I was, which was not at all. "And who is this "he", if I may?"

The driver shook his head. The passenger glanced east for a second before answering. "_He_ is a very twisted and very reclusive man. He lives somewhere near the mountains, and it's said that he can appear anywhere in his land that he wishes. No one knows who he is, but people have seen him wandering his fields, and they say that no one has ever tried to passed through his land and lived to tell the tale."

"Well, I thank you for the warning. We'll be on guard," Time said.

I just blinked. The only _he_ I could think of was Ganondorf, and the image of Ganondorf living like a hermit in a little house in the mountains was... bizarre. And highly amusing. I raised a hand to cup my lower face, pretending to be lost in thought when really I was trying to hold in the laughter.

The house would have to be old, of course, and his clothes all ragged and torn. Would he have a beard? Most likely. I snickered, disguising it as a cough.

"Well, if you insist on going that way, we won't stop you. Good luck, wanderers." And then the wagon started moving again, leaving us alone.

I did a slow fifty count and then doubled over laughing. And a cane, he had to have a cane he could stoop over while he hobbled.

"Do I even want to know?" Time asked, crossing his arms.

"Sorry, but... what if the hermit's Ganondorf?"

"Ganondorf is sealed away! Wait, a hermit? That doesn't make any sense."

"Exactly!"

"I don't want to know where that thought came from," he said. "We should keep going."

I managed to stand up, still snickering. "Do you think this hermit is going to be much trouble?"

"It's most likely some local legend or something to keep people away from the mountains. We're going east. If there is a hermit and he wishes to cause us harm, we'll handle him. Otherwise, we'll just pass right through. If we don't stop tonight, we can be in Hyrule by sundown tomorrow."

That was enough incentive for me.

xXx

There was indeed a house near the mountains, an old, moss-covered stone thing that was barely more than a ruin. The house sat in the foothills near the base of a mountain, on the western side of a river. By a ford, no less.

Somehow, that figured. We'd just spent at least three hours walking along the river looking for a safe place to cross. I eyed the house. Was there really an evil hermit here, or was it just some legend? I didn't care either way, but I really wanted to just get across this damned river and start climbing the mountains. I could practically _see_ Hyrule now; I wanted this to be over with.

I ran into Time, who for whatever reason had stopped right in front of me, on a dirt path. He turned to me, and instead of giving me the glare of death he loved aiming my way, he just tapped a finger to his lips and then pointed off ahead of us, to the right. Near the house. _There's something moving over there._

I didn't hear anything, and I was distracted enough by the smell of _home_ that I didn't smell much either, just the river and the grass and... magic? I opened my mouth, but never got to say anything; a man jumped up out of the grass and hurled a rock at me. It hit me, too, right upside my head. It wasn't a very big rock, about the size of an egg or so, but it _felt_ like a Goron had just rolled into my skull at full speed.

I fell over, landing on my side on the path, sharp pain lancing through the left side of my head like lightning. I grabbed my head, only to feel hot and sticky wetness on my hair and skin. Damn it, I was bleeding! What kind of magic did he put on that rock?

"Be gone, evil spirit!"

A second rock hit the path near my head. "Hey...!"

"Excuse me, sir," I heard Time say as I climbed to my feet and barely sidestepped a third magical rock. The world was spinning and blurry, and could he stop throwing rocks at me?

"Don't worry, boy! I'll destroy the evil chasing you!"

"Sir... that's my brother you're throwing rocks at."

"Oh?" The man stopped and stood up straight, holding a fourth rock in his hand. So help me, Din, if he threw that rock at me, I was going to shove it down his throat. I growled at him and made sure he wasn't going to throw it, and then I dug a scrap of cloth out of one of my pouches and held it up to the side of my head. _Damn it_, that hurt!

"So you would willingly travel with evil?" the man snarled, walking over to the path.

"He isn't evil," Time said flatly before walking over and tying my makeshift bandage around my head using the cloth he usually kept the Ocarina of Time wrapped in. The cloth still tingled from the instrument's magic.

"Hey, not so tight!" I snapped, wincing. "You don't have to try to take my head off, you know!"

He finished tying the bandage on and then turned back towards the man, holding up his now-bloody hands. "See? Do evil spirits bleed like men?"

"They do not, but they can make men believe they do. He is evil! I can sense the vileness in his heart from here!"

I scowled. Vile? The only thing _vile _about me was the fact that I now stunk of my own blood. "Let's just go. He's just some stupid old crazy man." I started walking towards the river, doing my best to just ignore him. The two farmers hadn't said anything about the evil hermit being _senile._

Time and I managed to cross the river, but the hermit followed us. "If you walk with him, boy, you walk with evil! I cannot allow that!" and with that, he started chanting.

Now, I wasn't a wizard, but I knew spells had ranges, so I charged for the mountains, hoping I could get out of his range before he finished. Behind me, I heard Time yelling at the hermit to stop and talk this over, but the chanting just kept getting louder and more powerful with every second. The air reeked of powerful magic. I didn't even bother looking back; I need to run...

"Sleep beneath the ice with the rest of the evil!"

Something snatched me off the ground and sent me flying. I flew over the mountains in what I guessed was a graceful arc, and then I started falling towards Lake Hylia. The surface of the lake was oddly calm. Since there wasn't any way I was slowing down, I instead tried to position myself as if I was diving in an attempt to hit as lightly as I could. And then I realized why the water far below me seemed so still and calm. It wasn't water.

It was _ice._

And I couldn't do anything to save myself.

xXx

"_Shadow_!" I yelled as I watched him disappear into the evening sky. "What did you do to him?"

"I will seal him as my master sealed away all the other evil... where he can't hurt anyone else ever again."

"I _said_ he wasn't evil!" No, why was I wasting time trying to explain this? I needed to... I pulled the Ocarina out and prayed I was close enough to Hyrule for this to work before playing.

_Serenade of Water._

Lake Hylia. It worked! I could barely see a shape roughly the size of a person falling out of the sky, heading for the water. No, not the water; he was falling towards the ice.

I started running as best as I could across the ice, heading for the spot the figure -- _Shadow_ -- seemed to be falling towards, whistling the Song of Time as I ran. I didn't need much time, just a few heartbeats... I just needed to get close enough for us to...

...and then a loud smack, an even louder thud, a sickening crack, and two hard, violent impacts. And everything ceased to exist.

xXx

_The Lost Woods. I'm home. Epona neighs happily and starts to run, but I hold her back. I carefully dismount and then start pawing through the saddlebags, pulling my gear out and stuffing it into my pouches or even just my belt as fast as I dare_._ I've got that weird feeling in my head again, like there're two different voices thinking at once. Epona tries to pull away, but I keep her calm. Barely._

Can't hold her back much longer.

"_Easy, girl, I'm not going to hurt you. Everything's going to be all right..."_

_I move faster, speed overcoming caution. _No time. _I can't keep her from bolting for much longer, and I'll need my gear if I'm to have any chance..._

_I let go of her tack so I can strap my shield to my back --_ a mistake --_ and she does bolt. He grabs her reins at the last second; he manages to calm her down a little. Enough. She's not trying to run, but she's still half-panicked. I keep my distance._

_He keeps talking to her, softly, soothingly, at one point even singing her song softly. Nothing helps enough, and finally he just works the saddlebags loose and pulls them free. As soon as the weight leaves her, Epona bolts again, but his hands are too full to even try to grab the reins, and I'm too far to do anything..._

_We both watch in silence as she charges into the Lost Woods, towards Hyrule, disappearing into the trees. _

"_She'll make it to the ranch," he says softly, slinging the saddlebags over his shoulder before turning to me. _

_I meet his gaze to see the concern and grief I feel reflected in his blue eyes. I nod. Of course she will. She's Epona. I shrug our sword and shield higher on my back. "Time to go."_

"_Right." He nods once at me and then we turn as one away from Hyrule. This is the plan; we come back into Hyrule just far enough and long enough to get our gear and turn Epona loose. We don't want to see her go, but there's nothing we can do about it. We're not exactly stable right now, and that's the problem: it's too much for her to handle. This isn't the first time she's panicked because of us._

"_Someday," I say softly as we walk back through the woods towards Termina. "Someday, we'll be back."_

_And then I'm alone again, whole again. I adjust the saddlebags over my shoulder and keep walking. I don't look back._


	4. Side Chapter 1: Unanswered Questions

_Revised version posted 12 January 2008_

* * *

She watched him as he ran across Hyrule Field towards her. Everything about him was the same as she remembered, the way his golden hair and green hat moved with the motion, the strong grace of his movements, the familiar sound of his voice calling her name...

He stopped in front of her, and then he leaned forward and put his hands on his knees, catching his breath. She couldn't help but smile as he stood back up; his face was red from exertion, his hair disheveled. She reached up and brushed a lock of hair back behind one of his ears.

For a moment, they both stared at each other, each unsure what to say. He laughed nervously.

She found her voice first. "Link, you've come home."

"Yes, I have." His voice was just as she remembered it, but something didn't quite seem right about him.. "Hyrule is doing well, I see."

"Yes," she said softly. "Hyrule is peaceful again."

He smiled and nodded, and she figured out what it was about him that wasn't right: his eyes. Instead of the gentle, deep blue she remembered from when she had met him as a child... His left eye was an exceptionally vivid shade of blue, the color of the Master Sword, the color it had been in the time that was no more when he was the Hero of Time. His right eye wasn't blue at all, instead a dark red, very much like the color of fresh blood.

She stepped back in surprise. "Link... You really _are_ Link, aren't you?"

He looked away. "Of course I am, Zelda. Who else could I be?" He looked as if there was something else he wished to say, but then he closed those mismatched eyes and turned away. "If I trouble you, I'll go."

"No! Don't leave. I just... don't really..." She took a deep breath and steadied herself. "I haven't seen you for eight years, Link. You don't appear as I remember you. You... You actually look like a warrior now."

He smiled slightly at that, turning back towards her. "I do? Well, Princess, I think you look quite regal." His smile faded and he opened his eyes again. "But I have to go now." With that, he looked out across the field in the direction of Lake Hylia.

"Go? Go where?" She stepped forward and grabbed his arm. He winced at her touch, and she noticed the icy feel of his skin and the tiny crystals of ice that now clung to his hair -- and then he vanished, leaving only a blast of chilly air where he'd stood.

**Fade to Black**  
**Side Chapter One: Unanswered Questions**

Princess Zelda had spent most of the day in her chambers, watching the castle gates for any sign of Impa or the guards that had left the castle with her.

Zelda wanted the dream to have just been a nightmare, even though she knew it wasn't. She could only hope that she had understood it correctly.

She walked over to the washbowl and splashed water on her face. Worrying about this wasn't going to help her at all; all she could do was wait and see what Impa and the guards found at the lake. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and tried to ignore the dozens of questions in her mind. None had answers, but somehow, they all seemed connected. The problems of the lake, Link's sudden return, the strange dreams she'd been having... there was a common thread if she could only find it.

A knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts. "You may enter."

Impa eased the door open. "Princess, I have returned."

"Did you discover anything?"

"Please follow me, Princess."

Zelda followed Impa through the castle silently, her mind reeling. They must have found something, or there would be nothing for Impa to show her. But what had they found? Had they found Link? If so, was he all right?

Impa stopped in front of a door. "Here we are."

"Thank you," Zelda said, before opening the door and entering the room. Inside, a healer leaned over a man lying asleep on the bed. But it wasn't just any man laying there; it was Link.

"Is he going to be all right?"

"I believe so, my Lady," the healer said, standing up. "He should be fine with plenty of rest. I've bandaged his wounds as best I can."

Zelda walked over to the bed and sat down beside Link. He looked exactly as he did in her dreams. She smiled and brushed some of his hair away from his face. Every so often, one of his eyebrows would twitch or his lips would move, and she wondered what it was that he seemed to be dreaming about.

He didn't seem to be very injured, although bandages covered several cuts and scrapes, and bruises were beginning to form on his shoulder. A strip of cloth was tied around his head, holding a bandage against the left side.

She was distracted enough by Link that she barely heard the healer excuse himself from over by the door. Zelda waited until the door had closed again before speaking.

"Impa, was he at the lake?"

"No, although that seems to be where he came from. One of the Royal Guard found him collapsed out on Hyrule Field. As best as any of us can tell, he was making his way from the lake towards Castletown when he passed out."

Zelda looked down at Link again. "I suppose I shall have to ask him if I wish to know where he came from or where he was going."

"It seems so."

Link's clothing was of a different style than anything she'd seen before, although it looked little different from what she remembered him wearing. His tunic, a darker shade of green than what she'd last seen him in, was draped over the back of a chair, along with a long-sleeved white undershirt. She couldn't see his legs under the thick blanket that covered him, but his breeches were probably white as well.

His sword and shield were completely different. His sword was simple yet elegantly functional, its hilt polished with use. The shield bore the image of a roaring lion, although the marks left by countless blows had destroyed part of the image.

Zelda frowned. Were his eyes the way they had been in her dream? If so, what had happened to him to do that? And if not, what about him made her see him in such a way?

It had been eight years since he left. Anything could have happened to him over those eight years. She forced herself to take a deep breath and blinked back nervous tears. No, everything would be all right. Link was home. He was home, and together they would solve the problems at the lake.

Link moaned softly. She looked down, right as he opened his eyes -- his blue eyes -- and scowled. "Who are...?"

"Don't you remember me?" Zelda asked, standing up and smoothing out her skirt.

Link took the opportunity to prop himself up on his elbows, blinking sleepily at her. "Not at the moment. I should, though. I know you, don't I?"

She smiled. He looked so adorable like that, half asleep and confused. "Do you even know where you are?"

He looked around and then gave her a puzzled look. "No."

"Where was the last place you remember being?"

"The lake," he replied, and then his eyes got a strange, faraway look. "I was running as I was falling."

"Falling?"

"Er, um, never mind."

She decided she wasn't going to press him on that, not yet. "You don't remember walking out through the field?"

"No."

"You were found unconscious on the field. They brought you here to the castle."

"Oh." He frowned. "Castle? Do you mean Hyrule Castle?"

She nodded. "Yes. And I am Princess Zelda."

Link stared up at her for a moment, and then he blushed and looked down at the blanket. "I'm sorry. It's been so long since I last saw you that I... well..."

"You don't have to apologize, Link," she said with a warm smile. "I understand. Now, are you all right? You said something about falling, and you don't remember walking partway across Hyrule Field. You're also hurt. What happened?"

"Please, Princess," he said weakly, holding up a hand. "Please, let me get some rest first. I... I'll tell you everything once I stop hurting."

"Very well. Is there anything you require?"

His eyes looked odd, although she couldn't quite place how or why. "I just need some time to... collect my thoughts."

"Then I shall return later. Rest."

"Thank you, Princess. I look forward to it." He smiled his familiar warm and friendly smile. That hadn't changed at all.

Zelda smiled back, and then she and Impa stepped out into the hallway. Halfway down the hall, Zelda stopped.

"Are you sure he'll be all right, Impa?"

"I see no reason why he wouldn't be. The healer said all he needs is rest, after all."

She bit her lip. "Still, I'm worried about him."

Impa nodded slowly. "Do you wish to go check on him?"

"Yes, I think I will."

As the two neared Link's room, Zelda realized she heard a voice coming from the room. The voice wasn't loud, but she could barely made the words out.

"My head still hurts." A pause. "Don't you shrug at me! It _hurts._ He wasn't throwing them at you!"

Another pause, and then: "You couldn't and you know it! You didn't even _try _to make him stop!" A low thud, as if something had been struck.

Zelda crept up to the door and put her ear to it. Now she could hear both sides of the conversation.

"Calm down. Throwing a tantrum isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Whatever. Makes me feel better."

"I fail to see how any of this is going to help your head. And if nothing else, I would like to get some sleep. Or have you forgotten what I had to do to catch you?"

It was incredibly strange. Both of the voices sounded like Link's, one exactly and the other slightly deeper. Yet, he was alone in the room, so what was going on? It couldn't merely be him talking to himself; the voices seemed to come from different parts of the room, at least relative to the door.

"Fine, fine. I'll try to calm down. I'd be a lot calmer if my head didn't hurt so much right now."

A sigh. "You know there's nothing I can do about that."

"I guess I should say thanks, huh? For bandaging my head?"

A soft chuckle. "Don't worry about it. You would've done the same if it had been me, right?"

Zelda put her hand on the doorknob and started to turn it as slowly as she could. She might be able to slide the door open without either of the people in the room noticing...

"Yeah. Listen, what are we going to do about this? I'm not so sure I like where we are right --" the voice cut off, and then it said something she couldn't completely make out, although she heard the word "door."

Clearly she wasn't as stealthy as she had hoped. Zelda gave up the attempt and opened the door. Link was sitting up in bed, blinking sleepily at her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, his voice soft.

"I heard voices coming from this room; are you sure you're all right, Link?"

"I'm the only one in here. I'm not sure what you heard, but I've just been laying here."

"All right, then. I'm sorry to have bothered you." Zelda eased the door shut and then leaned against it. "Impa, do you have any idea what that was?"

Impa shook her head. "I'm afraid I do not, Princess."

"You... you did hear voices, didn't you?"

"I did, yes."

Zelda sighed in relief. At least she wasn't hearing things! It wasn't really an explanation, but it was all she had right now. She stood up and stared at the door for a moment. One way or another, she was going find out what was going on. Hopefully, Link would explain this, but if not, she would just have to ask him.

There was more certainly something strange going on here.

xXx

_She saw him in her dreams again. This time he sat solemnly on a rock on the edge of a river near the castle, staring down at his reflection. But he wasn't the Link she knew; the one sitting on the rock had silvery hair and vivid, Master Sword blue eyes. He paid her no heed as she walked up for a better look at his reflection._

_The Link reflected in the water wasn't the Link she knew either; he had long, jet-black hair and eyes the color of fresh blood. Despite his somewhat fearsome appearance, he didn't seem evil. Rather, his face was relaxed into the same solemn look the silver-haired Link had. _

"_Link?"_

_Both the man and the reflection turned towards her at the sound of her voice, two nearly identical voices speaking at the same time. "Yes, Princess?"_

_She took another step towards them, but her foot slipped on a rock, and she glanced down as she caught herself. When she looked up again, both of the Links she had seen a mere moment ago were gone. In their place was the golden haired, blue eyed Link she knew. He, like his silver haired twin, sat on the rock, solemnly contemplating the river before him, but he had no reflection._

"_Link?" she asked again. What was this?_

"_Yes, Princess?"_

"_Is it really you?"_

_He seemed amused by her question. "Of course it is. Who else could I be?"_

_She realized as he spoke that she was making a habit of asking that question, and he of giving that answer. "Then who were they?"_

_He raised an eyebrow. "They?"_

"_The two men who were just here. The two men who look so much like you."_

"_Ah, them." He smiled at her, and she swore she heard a second voice, slightly deeper than his but otherwise the same, speaking with him. "We're Link."_


	5. Chapter 3: Hyrule Castle Misadventures

_Revised version posted 12 January 2008_

* * *

The old man rarely got any visitors at all, especially during the winter; few people dared brave the icy fields to visit his hut. So he was most surprised to come inside after checking on his animals to find a boy curled up in front of his fireplace.

"When did you get here?" he asked.

The boy yawned and then turned to him. He scowled. Did the boy's eyes just change color? "Who are you, boy?"

"Just need a place to rest," the boy mumbled.

That couldn't be right; the boy didn't look old enough to be traveling by himself. "Where is your master?"

"Don't have one. It's just us."

"Us?" the old man raised an eyebrow. "I only see one of you. Where are the others?"

The boy furrowed his brow and stared across the room, apparently lost in thought. One of his eyes seemed to turn red for a second, and then he leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "It hurts..."

The old man reached out to put a hand on the boy's shoulder...

...and suddenly there were _two_ boys in front of him, one on either side. The first was nowhere to be seen. He sensed powerful magic.

"Boy, how did you do that?"

"I wish I knew..." the lighter haired one said softly, holding his head. "It just _happens._ Our head hurts and then --"

"Shut up!" the darker haired one snapped. "He doesn't need to know that!"

"Oh, but I do. I may be able to help you, boy, if you will but trust me."

"And how do we know that?" the darker haired one demanded.

The old man sighed and shook his head. "I just ask that you trust me. I can see that you don't come to any harm."

And then there was just the first boy again, on his knees on the floor, holding his head.

"Are you all right?"

"My head's buzzing..." the boy said weakly.

"It seems you have quite the problem on your hands, my boy. I am Rinas. You could say that I am a wizard. And you are...?"

The boy slowly straightened up and lowered his arms. "Link," he said quietly. "My name's Link."

**Fade to Black**  
**Chapter Three: Misadventures in Hyrule Castle**

Welcome back to Hyrule, Link. Not quite the welcome you were expecting, was it?

I stared up at the ceiling and sighed. I honestly wasn't sure which was worse, reentering Hyrule by getting thrown over a mountain range or waking up with Princess Zelda leaning over me. Or even better, nearly being caught as Time and Shadow by Princess Zelda.

Thankfully, Shadow had noticed the doorknob moving... or I would be having a discussion I didn't want to have right now. Maybe never. I couldn't explain this to her. I couldn't even really explain this to myself.

I climbed out of bed again -- I'd spent the last hour or more going back and forth from the bed to the window -- and stared at the sky outside. Normally, my restlessness wasn't a problem, but since I was supposed to be resting, it wasn't like I could just leave.

Except that I could if I really wanted to; there was nothing forcing me to stay here. I hadn't come or gone by anyone's leave in what... five years? I wandered over to the window and opened it, leaning out to look at the garden below. No, it was even longer than that. I hadn't stayed or gone by someone's request since the Great Deku Tree told me to go to the castle so long ago. Since then, everything had been on my terms. I went when and where I pleased. I stayed as I wished.

For some reason, that reminded me of my time studying under Rinas. The old man had a workshop full of all kinds of magical paraphernalia that I had never seen before, but he insisted I stayed out of it. He had threatened me with bodily harm more than once because I _wouldn't_ stay out of it.

I smiled at the memory. I wondered if he ever figured out that was incentive for me to learn to control my power better, so half of me could stay where Rinas could see me while the other half went looking for interesting things to try out in the workshop. He figured out what I was doing, yes, because one day he got suspicious about the hooded cloak Time was wearing indoors to hide his hair and yanked it off.

It wasn't long after that when he said I had learned everything he could teach me, and that it was time for me to go. I had stayed the rest of the winter, simply because I didn't want to just leave him, but at first thaw, I'd left. I didn't like staying in one place too long, anyway.

Was he even still alive? He'd said something about "moving east", but honestly, I couldn't really remember where it was that I'd trained under him, so I had no way to find out where he was staying now.

I climbed onto the windowsill and looked down. There was a trellis underneath my window, covered in thick vines. Interesting.

True, I was supposed to be in here resting, but why? I'd walked for days straight with worse injuries than I had right now. Zelda never mentioned anything about me staying in my room; I didn't see where she would particularly care if I got up and wandered around the castle grounds for a little while. Besides, she was kind enough to put me in a room with an escape route. If I could remember, I'd thank her for this later.

I hopped back into the room and grabbed my clock from where someone had thrown it, and then I climbed onto the windowsill and then down the trellis. Halfway down, my vision doubled and the trellis shook; I lost my grip and only just managed to catch myself before I fell.

Below me, there was a smack and a muffled curse.

I leaned into the trellis and took a slow breath to steady myself. "Must you rush everything?" I snapped, carefully making my way down. Shadow lay at the base of the trellis in a very undignified heap. "We would have gotten down fast enough if you had just let Link finish."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Shadow muttered, climbing to his feet. Or maybe "flowed" was a better word. Shadow didn't always move in ways a Hylian was supposed to move, and this was one of those times. I watched just long enough to determine he wasn't injured and then I pulled on my cloak as he stretched and worked a kink out of his shoulder.

"Are you done now? I'd rather not get discovered, and you did a fine job of drawing attention towards us, you know."

"So move then," he muttered, looking annoyed.

I sighed. "Fine. Just make sure you get back before dinner. The princess wants _Link_ to eat with her."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll be back. Don't get caught." And then he was gone.

I shook my head. If I remembered the castle right, there was a very small, very private area in the center of the hedge maze in the northeastern corner of the castle gardens...

xXx

Gardens, boring. Hallway. Audience chamber. Hallway. Another hallway. Courtyard, no way. Back to the hallway. Door. Staircase. Guardhouse, _not a chance_! Back to the hallway again. Another hallway. Staircase. Yet _another_ hallway. There! The throne room!

And it was empty, to boot. I grinned as I slipped inside, dodging guards number forty-three and forty-four -- although most of those had been out in the courtyard looking towards the gates and not guards I had actually had to sneak past, but I was counting them anyway.

The room had two thrones, one large-backed and ornate, the other smaller-backed and slightly less ornate and more delicate. King and Queen. Well, right now it was more like King and Princess, but still. One throne for a man, one for a woman.

I walked over and flopped down on the king's throne. Hm. Just another chair, and not even that comfortable of one, either. I turned, leaning on one armrest while kicking my legs over the other. Ah, much better.

Not really sure I liked this much, though. I could imagine all the people coming in with all their petty little issues demanding the king fix things. Now if it was up to me, I'd just go out and take care of everything myself. But _no_, kings aren't supposed to do that. That was what their loyal servants were for. One more reason atop many that I would make a terrible king. Besides, I couldn't stand sitting around in one place long enough to rule.

Still, how many people had ever sat on the throne who weren't king? Not many, I'd be willing to say. And yet, here I was, lounging in the throne room. For the time being, I was King. To think, Time was probably hiding out in the garden somewhere. He was always griping at me for being reckless. Well, I thought he was too boring! Like now, he was probably hiding behind a rose bush or something, while I was the King!

I laughed at that. No, not behind a bush; in the bush!

xXx

I stretched out underneath a tree, watching the flowers on a nearby rose bush sway in the gentle afternoon breeze. It was so peaceful out here, in a corner of the garden most didn't know about. Shadow was probably getting himself lost in the dusty old castle while I was out here enjoying a beautiful day.

"I just... I don't understand. I hear two voices coming from his room last night." Zelda's voice. Hmm. Apparently my little spot wasn't quite as private as I had first thought it would be. From the sound of her voice, she was walking towards me, and there was only one way in or out of this part of the garden...

So I hid in the only real hiding place I had: the tree.

Which, of course, meant that Zelda walked over and sat down right underneath it. Perfect luck! Oh, well. Sooner or later, she would have to leave, and when she did, I'd take the chance to slip away and find Shadow. In the meantime, I didn't really mean to eavesdrop, but considering she was sitting so close, there really wasn't any way I could _not_.

"What if something's wrong with him?" she asked aloud. "It doesn't make any sense! He doesn't... He doesn't even seem like the same person anymore... Of course, he isn't, Zelda! You aren't the same woman he remembers from the battle with Ganon; he isn't the same man you remember!"

She sighed. "We both got those seven years back, and we've both lived through them again. I spent them as Zelda instead of as Sheik. He spent them living instead of sleeping. We didn't have to fight Ganon. We didn't have to fight."

Not in Hyrule, anyway. She got off easy. _I_ had to deal with Majora's Mask. I had to deal with Rinas. I had to deal with all the stupid, idiotic fools who heard stories about the shadow-phantom and decided to try to turn themselves into heroes. I had to deal with power struggles and wars and all kinds of examples of the worst of people.

Even now, sitting here listening to her, I had to deal with the knowledge that Lake Hylia was frozen solid, and no one had any explanation for it! Something was very wrong here, and there wasn't anything I could do! No one knew how or why this was happening. I took a slow, deep breath. I needed to relax. Clearly, Zelda had someone looking into that, right? Right. She wasn't stupid. She was chosen by the Triforce of Wisdom for a reason.

"I keep seeing him in my dreams as... I don't understand. Multiple versions of him? They aren't him, and yet they are. Why am I seeing him like this? They all identify themselves as Link, yet how can that be? Is it him? Or is it me? Am I just seeing all of the different versions of him that I've been afraid of seeing or not seeing for... for eight years now?"

She shook her head. "Or is there another reason I see these things? Is this some kind of prophetic dream? And if it is, what is it trying to tell me? Is there something wrong with him?"

I resisted the urge to bang the back of my head against the tree trunk. This was not good at all. It was only a matter of time now before Princess Zelda asked Link about her dreams. I had hoped we could keep this entire thing secret, but apparently I had hoped in vain.

Still, there _was_ the possibility that she was just having nightmares. Not all of her dreams were prophetic, and 'multiple versions of Link' did _not_ necessarily mean Shadow and me. It could be...

"Your Highness!" a voice called from somewhere in the maze around us. Zelda stood up and smoothed out her dress, and then a guard ran into the corner. "Your Highness, I was sent to ensure your safety. There is an intruder in the castle."

She tensed. "Take me to my quarters."

"Yes, Princess, as you wish."

I stood up in the tree as she and the guard disappeared around the first bend in the maze. With a heavy sigh, I stared towards the castle. Then I sent out a very simple, _very _loud thought before climbing down and carefully making my way back into the castle proper.

"Shadow, you _idiot."_

xXx

Quick note to self: maniacal laughter is good. Loud maniacal laughter is even better. But when I'm supposed to be sneaky, being loud is _very bad._

And to make things even better, I had completely forgotten how I'd gotten to the throne room in the first place. I'd gotten myself lost again, only to run right out into the courtyard. The courtyard full of guards performing some kind of training.

Well, that was it, wasn't it? I couldn't very well run back inside the castle with this many guards in a position to give chase, so... There had to be something I could do to get all this attention off of me...

_Shadow, you _idiot, Time's voice rang in my head. I ignored it. What good would it do to reply?

The only real way out of the courtyard was through the inner gate. I narrowed my eyes and charged, hoping that I could move fast enough, I could get through the keep before anyone had a chance to properly react.

I should've known that wasn't going to happen.

As I ran through the keep, I heard a very loud rattle above me. The portcullis! They'd just let it fall for my head!

I wasn't moving fast enough to get under it. I was moving too fast to stop before it. Only one option left, then. I gave up all pretenses of being Hylian and let myself dissolve into the shadows just before the heavy portcullis slammed through me and into the ground. It _still_ hurt, even though I was mostly non-corporeal.

Never been run through by a portcullis before, I had to note. Never wanted this to happen again, either. _Ow._

I could hear the guards yelling out a dozen different things all at once. Chaos, good. I moved away from the portcullis, heading towards the outside of the wall. All right, now that I was outside, all I needed to do was get the guards to open the portcullis and come out after me. Then I'd just shake them off my trail and go back inside.

From the sounds, the guards were all gathering in the keep, probably trying to figure out where I went. I positioned myself in the middle of the castle road and flowed up and out of the shadows, regaining my corporeality in front of at least two dozen guards.

They started yelling louder. With a broad smirk, I waved triumphantly at my audience before turning and running for Castletown. Since there weren't any guards along the road, I jumped back into the shadows just before I reached the outer gate.

Behind me, the portcullis quickly raised, and several of the guards poured out to catch me.

After that, getting back into the castle was a cinch. I left the shadows in one of the vacant hallways and stretched. I was sore thanks to that portcullis, but otherwise fine. Some things apparently never changed, and the security -- er, make that lack thereof -- in and around Hyrule Castle was one of those.

Now, all I needed to do was figure out which room was mine. It couldn't be that difficult, could it? I knew it was above ground level, third or fourth story, going by how large the trellis was. Not that I had the best idea how tall the trellis was after falling halfway down it, but that didn't really matter. I needed to find some stairs up.

"You. Where do you think you're going?"

I knew that voice. That was Impa's voice. _Shit._ Of all the people to get caught by, why did it have to be her?

"I'm searching for the intruder," I said, dropping my voice as low as I could in a probably-useless attempt to disguise it.

"Come here, boy. I don't recognize you."

Time liked to call me impulsive. Sometimes, he even claimed I was suicidal. If he saw me right then, he would have gotten all the justification he would ever need for that. I ran.

No, no, "ran" wasn't the right word. I _bolted_. I ran like Majora and Ganon were both hot on my heels, charging forwards simply because it led away from Impa.

One hallway, two, three. Staircase. Another hallway. This would have been a lot easier if I knew where I was running, or if Impa would maybe have given up the chase, but _no_. The sounds of her footsteps echoed behind me, partially covered by her yells to me to stop before she got rough.

Like I was going to let her get close enough to get rough!

Just when I thought she was about to catch me, an arm shot out from around a corner and yanked me into a side hall. My last thought as Shadow was that the arm was wearing one of Time's gauntlets...

xXx

"You! Stop right there!"

I whirled around and held my arms up. "It's all right, Impa; it's me!"

"Link?" Impa stopped running and walked over, looking at me. "I take it you've heard the commotion?"

"Yeah. What's going on?" As if I really needed to be told... but it gave me a chance to come up with an excuse.

"There's some kid in black sneaking around. You didn't happen to see him run by here, did you?"

"No, I didn't."

She shook her head. "One of the guards mentioned he could turn invisible at will." Her gaze never left me, harsh and piercing, almost like she was looking through me. "You don't know anything about that, do you?"

Why did I get the feeling she knew more than I wanted her to? "No, I don't. I'll be on the lookout for anyone suspicious."

Impa nodded. "Very well. I shall inform the princess of this. The guards are conducting a sweep of the castle, so you will see more of them than you did earlier."

I nodded. "Thank you, Impa."

She gave me one last piercing look and then hurried off. I staggered back to my room, locked the door, and sank to the floor. There was something about the way she'd looked at me... Not just the way it felt like she looked through me; it was...

It was like she looked straight through Link to see Time and Shadow. I'd never had anyone look at me like that before. I felt like I was going to be sick.

Impa _was_ the Sage of Shadow. Well, she had been in the Time That Wasn't; she wasn't now, but... Then again, I'd been wrong about that sort of thing before, so maybe she was a Sage. That could explain that look.

A knock on the door; the thick wood vibrated with the sound. I climbed to my feet, took a deep breath to compose myself, and opened the door.

Impa.

And she was giving me that look again. "You know more about this situation than you let on, Link."

I sighed. It seemed she knew. "What do you mean?"

"You've been playing with shadows, Link. That's what I chased, wasn't it? Your shadow?"

She thought I had magically animated my shadow, didn't she? Better than knowing about Shadow, I guessed. "Yes, it was."

She smiled, almost like a proud parent might, and then she punched my shoulder. "I don't appreciate having to clean up your messes."

"Sorry."

"I suppose I can concoct a story to appease the guards, but you are not to manipulate shadows inside the castle again, am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And why did you have your shadow run from me?"

"I just... I panicked. I'm sorry." Because if she saw Shadow and realized what he really was, I would have to explain something I never wanted to tell anyone.

"Never run from me again, am I understood?"

All I could do was nod.

"Now that that has been taken care of, and I know the princess is safe, she has requested that you dine with her tonight. I will return for you shortly; take this chance to make yourself presentable."

I waited until she left, and then I staggered over and fell onto my bed. That was _not_ something I really wanted to repeat...

A knock on the door woke me up sometime later. I fell asleep? "Link, are you ready?"

"I'm coming!" I jumped to my feet, yanked off my cloak, and brushed my hair back from my face. There. As good as I was going to get.

Impa was already walking down the hallway by the time I opened the door. "Come, boy, the princess is waiting!"

I ran to catch up to her, praying this wasn't going to go as badly as the rest of the day had.

xXx

_I stride through the marketplace of Triar, ignoring the merchants touting their wares and especially ignoring the women trying to get my attention. Truth be told, I'm not looking for anything except some warmth. Lots of warmth; it's the middle of winter, and I don't exactly have winter gear._

_It's been less than a month since Rinas kicked me out, and I'm wandering again, heading north simply because it's the direction I picked at the time. I'm not sure where exactly I'm going, only that I can't go back to Hyrule for three more years. If I ever go back at all._

_Something bumps my foot, and I look down. It's a ball. I pick it up as a little kid -- well, not little, only five years or so younger than me -- runs up to claim it. I smile and hold it out._

"_Thanks, mister!"_ _Wow. I don't feel like a "mister". I'm only fourteen. Maybe it's my hair; between the silver hair and my well-used sword and shield, people always think I'm older than I really am. Oh, well, small mercy. I don't have to worry about guards stopping me because I'm a little kid anymore. I hate that._

"_Stop, thief!" someone yells behind me. I turn and see a man running across the market towards me, a bag in his hand. The person yelling is an older woman. I narrow my eyes._

_He gets even with me, and that's as far as he goes. Shadow tackles his shadow while I snatch the bag from his hand with some help from the Song of Time. The man staggers past me and falls over, unconscious. I'm not quite sure how Shadow does that, but right now, I can't really say I care. I walk over to the older woman and hand her back the bag. She smiles at me in gratitude and presses a rupee into my hand. I smile and press it back. She needs it more than I do._

"_Selfless as well, I see." Her smile broadens. "Good to know there are still heroes in the world. May I know your name?"_

_I didn't see why not. "Link."_

_Her eyes widen, and then she laughs. "Well! You make quite the habit out of playing the hero, don't you, Hero of Moonfall?"_

_It's been a while since anyone called me _that_. I stare at her. "You're from Termina?"_

"_Yes, I am. Not to worry; Termina is fine, thanks to you. Now, are you sure there's nothing I can do to repay you? I insist."_

_Which explains why half an hour later, I'm walking through through Triar's northern gate wrapped in a thick, warm, ankle-length black traveling cloak._


	6. Chapter 4: Meeting at the Temple of Time

_Revised version posted 12 January 2008_

* * *

"What am I?" the boy asked.

Rinas turned away from the potions he was brewing and looked at the boy sitting against the wall and staring at nothing. "What do you mean?"

"I'm... you said I need to learn to control myself. But _why_? What's wrong with me that I need to learn that? Is there something evil inside me? I want it out!"

"Calm yourself, my boy. It does not seem to be evil; it is merely you. When I said you need to learn control, I merely meant that you need to learn how to control when you split. It would be rather difficult to spend time around other people if you did not have such a skill."

The boy didn't answer for a while. "But... what am I? Some kind of monster...? People aren't supposed to split like this!"

"You're no monster, my boy; you're simply Link. You will always be Link. But it seems that Link is also made of two halves."

"I want the bad half to go away!"

"There _isn't_ a bad half, my boy. There is one power or another. Neither is necessarily good; neither is necessarily evil. You must decide how you will use those powers of yours."

Link didn't answer. Rinas went back to his potions.

"But... there's good, and there's evil. They stand in opposition..." the boy said softly.

"True. However, that implies that your halves are in opposition. Are they?"

"No..."

"Then why do you assume that one is good and the other evil? Are you _that_ convinced that there is a monster in your head?"

Link stared at the floor. "The mask I wore had a dark power... That's what Tatl said."

"Is dark evil?"

"I don't know..." He leaned his head back against the wall, and when he finally spoke, he sounded less like a scared boy and more like the hero he claimed to be. "Light and dark are just tools."

"Then you have your answer, my boy." Good, it seemed Link was finally learning. "Neither of your halves is evil unless you yourself choose to allow such a thing."

"I don't like the word 'halves.' It makes it sound like... like we're missing something! Can't you call us something else?"

"That is the word that best fits, Link."

"There! My whole has a name!" He stood up.

"True, and if your halves had names, I would refer to them as such."

Link closed his eyes and stayed lost in thought for a while before murmuring "Time and Shadow. We're Time and Shadow."

"Time and Shadow," Rinas repeated. Somehow, those seemed rather fitting. "Very well then, Link is Time and Shadow, and Time and Shadow are Link. Right?"

The boy beamed and nodded. "Yes, we are."

Rinas nodded contently and went back to his potions. Yes, Link was indeed beginning to come to terms with this.

**Fade to Black**  
**Chapter Four: Meeting at the Temple of Time**

"We aren't quite certain why Lake Hylia has frozen over. It radiates powerful magic, but there is no apparent source, and the magic is one that none of the mages seem to recognize. The magic does not seem to be spreading, at least for the time being, so we have ordered that area evacuated and are currently researching the kind of magic necessary for such an effect." Zelda smiled despite the worry on her face. "I hope we are handling the situation as best we can."

"Ah," I said, simply, trying to sound reassuring. I'd been right; it was being investigated. Besides, even if this was being ignored, I couldn't really stop something I didn't understand, now could I? "I'm sure someone will discover the source of this soon enough. Something will work out. It always does." Most of the time, at least.

She nodded and looked at me. She seemed relieved now. "So, Link, what happened on all of your travels? I am certain you must have seen many things."

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "Well, Princess, a lot has happened, and I'm not entirely sure where to start..." Or how best to phrase any of it to not mention Time and Shadow. "I saved a land called Termina from a great evil that was trying to make the moon crash into the earth."

"That makes two lands you've saved. It seems you're a natural hero."

"I guess you could say that," I said with a shrug. "I was just doing what was right. But after that, I... I just wandered around doing a little bit of everything."

"Everything?"

"Well, not quite _everything_." Although with Shadow around, that wasn't too far off. "It wasn't like I saved the world again. Pretty boring, really."

She smiled at me, giving me a look that said she knew there was something I was leaving out. Thankfully, she decided not to press the issue. "I've been dreaming of you lately, Link. They are strange dreams with more than one Link in them."

I did everything I could to not visibly flinch, but I didn't know if she saw it or not. It was a nightmare, right? Please, Farore, I didn't want to have to try and explain this to her!

"More than one me?" I said finally, fighting to keep my voice even. "What are these dreams about?" I reached for my glass and took a long drink of wine.

"Well..." She was staring at me now, as if scrutinizing my face for an answer. "In my dreams, I have seen four different Links. The first is as you are right now, only you wore the cloak you had on when Impa found you at the lake."

Time's cloak. That wasn't really an issue; sometimes I wore it as Link when I needed the warmth. That didn't mean anything at all.

"The second one was you still, but your eyes... one was the color of the Master Sword, the other like blood."

"Did either of these two scare you?" I had to ask.

"No, they didn't scare me, although I must admit that the second one's eyes were a bit unnerving." She took a slow breath. "The third and fourth ones were the truly strange ones, and the ones I am the most concerned about. The third had silvery blond hair, eyes the color of the Master Sword, and silver-blue and black clothing. He... was strange. He struck me as being... old, and yet young at the same time."

Old, yet young; that was Time, all right. _Damn_, I had been hoping she'd say something else. I never thought I would wish Zelda didn't have her gift of prophecy, but right then I did. How long could this have stayed my personal secret if she didn't dream about my halves?

"The fourth one, well... He unnerves me."

I closed my eyes and sighed inwardly. I didn't even need to hear her describe him to know she meant Shadow. Shadow unnerved _everyone_ who saw him, except Time. Unnerving people was practically Shadow's specialty.

Zelda wasn't talking anymore, instead staring down at the table. _Pay more attention to her, Link._ "Why does he unnerve you? Is he evil?"

"No," she said slowly. "He's just... _dark_. Black hair, dark skin, dark clothing... And his eyes are strange. They're the color of blood and yet... they seem friendly, in a way. That's the strangest part of all of this, Link: they both seemed like you. Why?"

I stared out the window, completely at a loss for words. What could I say? I couldn't very well tell her she had just been dreaming, but... could I tell her about my halves?

"Why? Why do I dream of you in such a way? I should be happy that you've come back to Hyrule, but... You're hiding something from me, aren't you? Why, Link? Don't you know you can tell me? What's wrong? Please tell me!" She was crying now.

Damn it,_ idiot_! I closed my eyes. I swore I would never make her cry. But how... how was I supposed to tell her that I...?

My mouth was suddenly dry; I swallowed hard. "Well, Princess, I can't really explain it, but..." Here went everything. "All I can do is show you."

"Show me? Are you hurt?"

"No! No, I'm not hurt. Just... please, not here; not in the castle. Somewhere private. I don't want anyone else to see, or know. This isn't something I want just anyone knowing about me." And I didn't. Partly because the more people knew about it, the more people would want answers that I didn't have. I didn't know why I could do this, only that I could.

She nodded slowly and wiped away her tears. "Very well, then. Is the Temple of Time private enough for this?"

Yes! Not there! I nodded. "It will be, yes. When do you wish to meet there?"

"Tonight, after the twilight fades; I can ensure the Temple will be empty."

"Then I will be at the Temple when the twilight fades."

xXx

"_Why_ are we doing this again? This is stupid."

I sighed. "Which part? Or do you mean this in general?"

"The Temple of Time! Why couldn't we do this at the Shadow Temple?"

"For one, the Temple of Time is much closer. For another, you don't even know what's there. How do you know there aren't any monsters in there?"

"Give me the ocarina, and I'll go check!"

I shook my head. "Do you even remember the song to get there?"

"Um..."

Good, I thought, that shut him up. Shadow wandered over to the open window and sat down on the sill.

Besides, did it really matter _where_ we met the princess later? I was personally more worried about how she was going to react to the two of us. I couldn't come up with a possible reaction that meant anything good. I sighed and went back to the history book I was reading.

And Shadow started humming. Of course he remembered the Nocturne of Shadow; it was the only song he could _ever_ reliably remember. That was one of the many reasons I carried the Ocarina of Time and he didn't. He finished the song, and then he hummed it again, louder this time.

"I'm not handing over the Ocarina."

"What? Why not? I remember how to get there!"

"For starters, Shadow, do you also remember the song to get back? How crowded _is _the Temple of Time this time of day, anyway? And lastly, don't you think Zelda might be capable of detecting the Ocarina of Time moving around?" I hoped that part was a lie, but I couldn't put such a thing past her. "She'd either investigate it herself or, better, send Impa to do it."

I heard an odd muffled noise from across the room. "Uh, never mind then. I think I'll just stay here. I don't think she likes me."

"She thinks that you are an animated shadow."

He crossed his arms. "Hmph. I'm not just a shadow."

I shook my head. "It's a convenient lie, Shadow. Or would you rather attempt to explain this to her? It's going to be difficult enough to explain this to Zelda."

"Impa's going to find out. Zelda will tell her, or we'll have to tell her because she'll see us with the princess, or something. We can't hide it from her forever." He stared across the room. "I don't like this, Time. Why are we doing this? Let's just tell her that we can't show her after all."

"And hurt her? If we say something like that, Zelda will be convinced that Link doesn't trust her."

"Maybe I _don't_," Shadow snapped, his voice cold. "Maybe I'm just waiting to get attacked because of this."

"Maybe you're just being paranoid," I snapped back, glaring at him.

He stood up and glared down at me before saying softly, "I'm trying to stop threats before they can strike. Unlike you, I'm more concerned with staying alive than with some woman's feelings."

"Need I remind you that "some woman" happens to be someone very important to Link? I'm not helping you hurt Zelda in _any_ way, understand? You don't have to agree with this. You don't have to like it. But this is what is going to happen. Zelda is going to see us. She's going to know we exist. We're going to have to explain ourselves to her as best we can. If that's a problem, then just go."

Shadow fell back onto the windowsill, shaking his head as if to clear it.

I sighed. "You need to watch that temper of yours, Shadow."

"What'd I do?" He looked confused.

"You just said your life was more important than Zelda's feelings."

He stared out the window. "I'm sorry; I just..."

"I know." He didn't need to explain his temper to me. "Try not to do that in front of Zelda, all right?"

"I... I'll try, but you know I can't really control it."

I watched him stare outside for a moment and then went back to my history book. It wasn't very interesting, but at least it was something to occupy my mind with.

"How long do we have?"

"An hour or so," I replied, not looking up. "Why?"

Shadow looked over at me and scowled. "I'm bored; that's why."

"Can you stomach some history?"

"It's better than nothing," he said, walking over and sitting on the arm of the chair.

I sighed. "This isn't exactly what I meant..."

"Close enough. Besides, the door's locked. If anyone tries to come in here without knocking first, we'll hear them, and we'll have time to turn back into Link."

He had a point. I shifted in the chair and propped the book against my knee, and then we both went back to the text.

xXx

A bell chimed somewhere outside the castle, the notes echoing up into my room.

"Mmm...?" I opened my eyes and saw a strange pattern of white and black dots hovering in front of my face. I reached up to wave them away and knocked the book to the floor. Apparently I'd dozed off. I hadn't meant to fall asleep.

I picked the book up and set it on the small table. I didn't really want to have to explain this to Zelda, but... No, I had to. She deserved to know the truth, especially after everything that had happened. In some ways, I still owed her for all her help during the battle with Ganondorf.

The sun was setting. I needed to get moving if I was going to get to the Temple before the twilight faded. I grabbed my cloak and climbed down the trellis.

Security around the castle was a bit less lax than it normally was, which was to be expected after the "intruder" earlier, but I still had no problems slipping off the grounds. I wasn't afraid of being caught inside, but... If anyone spotted me leaving, no doubt several guards would volunteer to escort me wherever I was going.

And a hero didn't need an escort _anywhere._

Castletown looked almost exactly like I remembered it from when I'd been here as a child, although the town had grown while I'd been away. But, just as then, the streets were empty now except for a couple of guards and a bunch of stray dogs. The drawbridge was up, and everyone had gone home.

The air was heavy, as if some as-yet-unknown threat loomed over the town. I caught myself looking up at the sky, checking for a moon that didn't exist. Something wasn't right. Something bad was going to happen here.

I shook my head. I was being paranoid, was all. Nothing was going to happen here. Castletown was safe.

I followed the little back street past the Happy Mask Shop into a secluded little garden, the hard, rough cobblestones of the market giving way to the soft dirt of the path. My footsteps quieted at the change, loud and echoing steps becoming barely audible footfalls.

I stopped at the final bend in the path and looked up at the massive structure of the Temple of Time. The Temple was every bit as imposing and powerful and secretive and mighty as it had been the very first time I saw it. Except this time I didn't have the fate of all Hyrule on my shoulders or the Master Sword hanging at my back.

"I do believe you're here to do more than just stare blankly at the building, aren't you?" Impa leaned against one side of the massive doorframe, mostly hidden in the shadows.

"Impa? What are you doing here?" And why was I even asking? She was here to make sure Zelda was safe.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Link? I refused to allow the princess to come here alone, but for some reason I don't know, she insists on being alone in the Temple. So I am waiting out here. I trust you will be decent in there, whatever you are doing?"

I felt my cheeks heat up at that. "We're not here to do anything like that! We're just here to talk..."

"Ah, but you are here to show her something you won't show to anyone else, aren't you?" She was smirking now, with that glimmer in her eye that she always had when she was trying to embarrass me. "Does this have anything to do with your little friend in the castle earlier?"

I looked down at my boots, unsure what to say.

Impa laughed. "There, there. I'm merely amusing myself. Go on. The princess is waiting for you." She leaned back against the doorframe, seeming to vanish into the shadows. "I'll be out here if you should need me."

"All right," I said, nodding at where I'd last seen her. And then I opened the doors and walked inside.

The Temple was peaceful inside, as it always was. That strange, soft, otherworldly chorus still sang. Once, as a child, I'd tried to find the source of that chorus, but I never did. I'd finally decided it had to be coming from somewhere behind the Door of Time and stopped trying to find it.

My boots rang out against the smooth, cool marble as I walked across the room. Zelda knelt in front of the altar and the statues of the Three Goddesses behind it. She didn't look up as I stopped beside her, clearly deep in prayer.

There was still a little bit of twilight visible, the dimming light from outside filtering in the windows and joining with the dim light from all the candles spread around the Temple. I was still a little early. There wasn't any reason to bother Zelda.

So instead I stood in front of the altar and looked up at the three statues. It was finally sinking in. I'd been away from home for eight years. I hadn't seen Hyrule, Zelda, or even any sign of my Goddesses for eight long years. I'd come across many different gods and goddesses in the different lands I traveled through, but I just never could wrap my head around any of them. Among all the chaos that had been my life so far, one fact stayed the same: Din, Nayru, Farore -- the Three Goddesses, the Creators of Hyrule...

...the ones who'd helped keep me alive during all the battles.

I looked over at Zelda, still in her prayers, and scratched my head. I'd... I prayed in dark corners and out in the middle of nowhere, not in temples. That fact hurt now that I thought about it. No one had heard me pray in years. The last person had been Rinas; he'd been the one to warn me that my Goddesses weren't known as far from Hyrule as I'd been at the time, and that people wouldn't take too kindly to my praying to foreign deities in their lands.

But I didn't have to hide anymore. I was home. I took a deep breath, moving away from Zelda so I wouldn't disturb her. "Din, Nayru, and Farore," I whispered, "I am honored to be in Your presence..." And then I let it all out. Eight years of distance, all out in one long prayer.

I felt better after doing it, too. I finished the prayer the way I always did, by drawing a triangle on my forehead. I wasn't sure where I'd picked that habit up, as I didn't remember ever seeing anyone else do something like that, but I always got this tingly feeling when I did it that reminded me that I wasn't completely alone.

That done, I looked back up at the statues. I'd have to ask Zelda what appropriate offerings were, later. Thus far, blood, sweat, and tears had sufficed, but I'd prefer offerings that didn't involve risking life and limb.

"Link?" Zelda. She must have finished praying.

I turned towards her, noticing how dark the sky outside the Temple was. The twilight had faded. Apparently, I spent more time praying than I'd really meant to. "I'm sorry, Princess."

"There is no need to worry about it, Link. It must be rather strange being home after being away for so long."

"It is," I said, turning my back to the altar and trying not to look at her. "Anyway, I, uh... I don't really know how to start explaining this..."

Zelda giggled at that, although she looked nervous. "Well, you didsay it would be easier if you just showed me."

"True." I felt my cheeks warming up at that.

"Do I need to stand back?"

"If it makes you feel more comfortable, you can, but there isn't any real need to. I'm not about to explode or anything," I said, realizing as I said it just how absurd that sounded. I hadn't intended to make her worry, but then I just had to say _that_. She'd jumped back several feet when I said that, her eyes wide.

"Ne-never mind," I said quickly. "Just... Please, don't scream."

With that, I pushed out, and Link became Time and Shadow.

And Zelda just stared.

xXx

_He looked up at the closed drawbridge, the final obstacle in his path. Pathetic, really. Was this the only defense this city really had? A simple spell, and the drawbridge began to lower._

_No, this wasn't the only defense; four guards waited for him when the drawbridge finished descending. They aimed their spears at him, one of them loudly demanding to know what his purpose was._

_He just laughed and pulled a rock out of his pouch, whispering the enchantment before hurling it at the closest guard's head. There was a loud crack, and then the man slumped to the ground in a heap._

_The other three guards charged him as one._


	7. Side Chapter 2: Time and Shadow

_Revised version posted 12 January 2008_

* * *

Some things just never changed, Zelda thought. Even after all this time and everything he had no doubt been through, in many ways Link was still so much like a little child. He looked cute when he blushed.

"Do I need to stand back?" she asked.

"There really isn't any need to. It's not like I'm going to explode or anything."

Zelda jumped back at that. Where had he come up with something so absurd? And what exactly did he mean by that? What had happened to him?

Judging by the look on his face -- confused and worried and more than a little annoyed -- he didn't know either. "Ne-never mind," he said, a little too quickly. "Just... Please, don't scream."

She was going to demand to know what he was going to do that might make her wish to scream, but she never got the chance. His entire body seemed to ripple and blur, and then it split in two. The blurry ripple then faded away, revealing _two _Links.

**Fade to Black**  
**Side Chapter Two: Time and Shadow**

Princess Zelda stared in amazement towards the altar and the two men standing before it. Both men were Link, and yet... neither of them was him. She knew who they were, somewhat; they were the two men she'd seen in her dreams. She stood there, frozen, uncertain whether to laugh or cry or run to them or run away.

There was one thing she knew, however. She wasn't going to scream. Her voice was as frozen as the rest of her. Her mind, on the other hand, reeled as it tried to take everything in all at once.

The silver-haired one looked stronger. He had Link's sword slung across his back and a pair of large black leather and steel gauntlets on his arms, as well as a silver-blue tunic and matching hat. The rest of his clothing was a very dark blue, almost black. His face showed very little emotion, only a tiny flicker of concern.

The black-haired one seemed more agile. He also stood slightly taller. His long hair fell over his shoulders and down his back; he wasn't wearing a hat. His gauntlets -- all black -- were bulkier than the other man's were, and Zelda thought she could just make out the end of a hilt sticking out of each of them. His clothing was jet black, except for a dark gray tunic. He looked concerned and relieved and a little scared; his entire body was tense, as if he were prepared to bolt at a heartbeat's notice.

Finally, she spoke, her voice small and faraway. "Are you... real?"

"Yes," the silver-haired Link said, his voice every bit as calm and emotionless as his face.

"And... are you really Link?" Zelda took a small, hopeful step towards the altar.

The silver-haired one spoke again. "Yes."

She turned to the black-haired one. "And what of you? Are you also Link?"

"Er, yes and no," he said, his voice a little shaky. His voice was slightly deeper than the other's. "In a lot of ways, I'm Link... but I'd really prefer if you called me 'Shadow'."

Zelda smiled at that; Shadow spoke with the same tone Link had on the day he and she had first met, sounding as if he were convinced that at any second she would call the guards on him.

"Princess? Are you --" the silver-haired one stared to say.

She cut him off. "If your friend has his own name, do you not also?"

"Time." And then he smiled that gentle smile she remembered so well.

She couldn't deny it. Both of them, somehow, were Link. She ran towards the altar, towards them, and threw an arm around each of them. Then, hanging between the two of them, she started to cry. She felt them step closer to each other, making it easier for her to cling to both of them at once, and one of them reached up to gently pat her back.

"I was so worried!" Zelda forced out. "I thought something horrible had happened to you! I thought -- I thought you might be hurt!"

"Well..." Shadow said, sounding more than a little embarrassed. "That kinda depends on how you define horrible."

That was true, she thought. Something had happened to him to grant him such an unusual power, and she was forced to admit that she didn't have the slightest idea what that something might be. But there was something else... "What about Link?"

"What about him?" Time asked, sounding just as stoic as before.

"Is he... dead?" She had just been talking to him, but... he wasn't here anymore. Was he?

"No. He just..." Shadow slid out of her grip and started pacing back and forth in front of the altar. "It's, well, really hard to explain, as we aren't entirely sure ourselves. From what we've been able to figure out, Link is the 'whole', the sum of the parts. The sum of, well, us. We... We're two parts of him. Apparently, we're so much stronger than the other parts that we define him in some important way."

Shadow cleared his throat. "In a lot of ways, we're both Link. But, as I'm sure you can see, we aren't quite the same."

Zelda had to agree. "You said you're parts. What kind of parts?" she asked, releasing Time and standing up straight.

"Well... we're..." Shadow's voice trailed off as he leaned his head back to look up at the three statues. "Link's seen a lot of things that no one should ever have to see, especially someone that young. But he's always been good at filtering stuff out, at ignoring the bad that he comes across, at pretending that none of it bothered him. He just shoved it all away, leaving them to the shadows. Because that's all they were to him: things of darkness."

"I don't understand. If he left them to the shadows, wouldn't they have left him alone? He's always been so innocent!"

Shadow laughed bitterly. "That's just it, Princess. He may have left those horrible things to the shadows, but the shadows never left him. You can't see that sort of thing and _not_ be marked by it in some way. Besides, Link has had exactly two forces acting on him his entire life. Time. Darkness."

Time shook his head before saying softly, "Warriors cannot remain innocent forever."

"But I sent him back to his own time! He got to live those years he lost! Didn't that change anything?" Zelda snapped, whirling around to face Time.

"You sent his spirit back, Zelda. You undid what time did to his body, but you couldn't undo what it did to his spirit. He remembers everything." Time leaned against the altar, crossing his arms. "You know he left Hyrule."

"Of course I do. I gave him the Ocarina to take with him. Don't you remember?" She scowled. "Wait, can you remember?"

Shadow finally lowered his head to look towards Zelda. "We remember everything he does, because we are him. In some ways, he's still innocent, but... Link left because he had to leave. I'll let him explain it himself. So we went looking for Navi and somehow ended up in a very faraway land called Termina.

"Termina was, well, an infinite three-day nightmare. The flow of time looped over and over for us until we managed to break the cycle and prevent the end of the world from happening."

Zelda's eyes widened in surprise. Link had mentioned something about a moon crashing into the earth, but... The end of the world? "What?"

"A skull kid found a mask. This mask turned out to have a great evil sealed in it, and through him, that evil proceeded to try to crash a moon into Termina and destroy everything. Link arrived three days before Moonfall, and by luck or fate, by using the Ocarina and the Song of Time, we could infinitely live those three days. It took a lot of work, but we eventually stopped the moon, battled the mask, and destroyed it." Shadow glanced back up at the statues. "And that's where we came in."

Zelda swallowed hard. "What happened?"

Shadow just sighed and sat on the altar.

Time took a deep breath. "The battle didn't go well. Even with a mask containing the power of a god, Link couldn't win. He prayed to the Goddesses... and somehow that prayer combined with the power of the breaking Fierce Deity's Mask and memories of fighting Dark Link in the other time... and Link's shadow tore itself free of him and dove into the fray.

"It wasn't until the battle was over that we realized that it wasn't that his shadow had torn free; Link had split in two. For a while after that, we just wandered aimlessly. We couldn't control whether we were Link or Time and Shadow, and we split for odd reasons; we didn't even have names for ourselves yet."

He sighed. "We still aren't exactly sure how this happened, or why. Our best guess is that this is the result of the Fierce Deity's Mask's power, as it broke right after we first split. But we aren't certain, and we don't know if this can be undone."

"I don't _want_ this undone," Shadow said with a snort. "Anyway, to keep someone from talking all night... Time is what's left of that innocent Link, only he's got a whole new view on things thanks to all the months he's spent manipulating time to suit his needs. I'm both Link's nightmares and his reactions to them." He smirked. "I'm all the horror he's lived through, all the hate and fear and rage.

"It's not that I'm evil, though, so don't worry about that. I just don't care. Considering the things I've seen, silly little 'normal person' concerns just don't matter at all."

Zelda shook her head slowly, trying to let that all sink in. "Is that why you're sitting on the altar to the Three?"

Shadow leaned his head back, staring up at the statues again. "I fail to see why They need like a temple, or even an altar. They take what I offer without any holy ground."

Zelda opened her mouth to speak, even though she didn't know what to say, but Time put a hand on her shoulder and gently shook his head. "Don't. You have to remember: outside of Hyrule, the Three aren't very well known. The other lands don't really... The people there don't take too kindly to seeing the praise of foreign deities. We've done all our worship in private."

"That... must be hard," Zelda said. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing you can do about it," Shadow replied nonchalantly, hopping off the altar. "Anyway, there's our big secret. So now you can start screaming and get Impa in here and order us out of Hyrule or thrown in the dungeon or whatever your little heart desires."

"Why would I do such a thing?" She smiled. "I will admit that this comes as quite the shock, but it isn't as if you've become another Ganondorf. You wish no harm on Hyrule... so why would I wish harm on you? You're still Link, and Link is always welcome here."

The door opened. "Princess? Are you still in here?"

"Yes, we are, Impa." Zelda waved, even though the Temple was mostly dark. Impa would be able to see the motion.

"Princess, we should return to the castle." Impa started walking across the Temple. "Why do I see three people?"

Time and Shadow glanced at each other, clearly uncomfortable. "Well," Shadow said softly, "I told you she'd find out..."

"We'll explain on the way, Impa. What is the matter?" Now that she stopped to look, it seemed strangely dark outside.

Impa just shook her head. "I have a very bad feeling about this. Now, let's go."

Time and Shadow shared another uncomfortable look before following Zelda outside, one on each side.

Castletown seemed too quiet, too dark, too empty, even for this time of night. Zelda didn't need to be told that there was something very wrong going on somewhere close. The four of them hurried through the streets, watchful for anything that might pose a threat. Zelda found herself wishing she hadn't convinced Impa to come alone...

They were at the castle road when they heard the scream. They turned as one towards the sound just in time to see a guard fly backwards across the market square in a cloud of blood, landing in a heap on the other side of the fountain. He didn't get up.

Time and Impa drew their weapons. Shadow grabbed Zelda's arm and turned towards the castle, ready to run. Zelda took a deep breath. They should get out of here, but she wanted to see the threat for herself. Something told her that she needed to see this.

"For too long, Hyrule has sheltered evil. That evil must be destroyed to save the world..." With that, an older man walked into the square, leaning lightly on a gnarled walking stick. "I have come here in order to purge that evil. It must be destroyed for the good of the world!" His arm moved --

Time grunted and fell to one knee, clutching at his chest with his empty hand. Impa doubled over, sucking in a quick breath.

Zelda hadn't even seen what struck them... "Time! Impa!"

"Zelda, we have to get out of here!" Shadow tugged at her arm, but she refused to move.

"Who are you?" She demanded, turning to the old man. "I order you to identify yourself! How did you get in here?"

"The path was cleared for me, just as it is meant to be. The light of purity shines on me and guides my path! Who am I? I am the one who shall restore this land to its true glory!"

"No... you aren't..." Time rasped, staggering to his feet. The man moved his arm again, and the air filled with a loud _crack_ as Time slumped to the ground. The man was throwing rocks!

"Time!" Shadow yelled, looking over at where his other half lay, unconscious, his nose broken and bloody. "Zelda, we have to get out of here."

She ducked closer to the road, pausing only to yell, "I order you to stop!"

"I will not listen to those who ally themselves with evil!" he snarled, hurling another rock. Impa stepped to the side, closer to Zelda.

That didn't stop the rock from smashing into Zelda's stomach, knocking all the air out of her lungs. She staggered back, suddenly dizzy. There was an enchantment on the rock, something that drained her strength...

"Princess!" Impa caught her before she could hit the ground. "Are you hurt?"

Zelda could only lean weakly against her nursemaid and guardian and try to catch her breath. She felt so weak.

"How _dare_ you!" Shadow roared from somewhere near her. Zelda looked his direction as he moved forward. She felt her blood run cold. Shadow looked ready to kill...

xXx

_I stalk forward, sliding one of my blades free of its hidden sheath before pointing it at the strange old man and glaring at him. Something about him seems familiar, but I'm far too busy planning his death in my head to even pretend to care about figuring it out._

"_The evil must be destroyed!" he shrieks. "The taint must be cleansed!" He moves his arm --_

there! _I swing the flat of my blade at the rock, sending it right back at his ugly face. He manages to dodge, mostly; the rock glances off his shoulder. He doesn't even flinch_. _But that doesn't matter right now. I have his undivided attention._

_I slide the other blade from its sheath and point both of them at him, the slightly-curved blades glinting dully in the dim lights from the magical lamps. I hear Zelda behind me gasping for breath; I hear Impa trying to comfort her._

_He's not hurting Zelda again. I don't care what his great plan is. I'm not letting him. _I'm killing him tonight.

"_Oh? What is this? A boy with a pair of knives? Do you intend to fight me like that, boy?"_

_I narrow my eyes and snarl. _He's dead. _The world's turning red; light and dark snap into harsh focus. There's that harsh churning deep in my chest again, and rage and hatred and bloodlust are practically singing in my veins. _He doesn't realize it, but he's already dead. _I can't keep the maelstrom building within me out of my voice, not that I even try._

"_I don't intend to _fight _you, you senile fool. I intend to scatter your pieces to the wind."_


	8. Chapter 5: Vengeance

_Author's notes: Shadow's on the warpath now. As implied by his threat from last chapter, he gets violent in this one. So here's the warning: graphic violence and some potentially disturbing imagery. The story finally starts earning its rating here._

_Revised version uploaded 06/08/08_

* * *

Of the four, the lighter-haired man clearly posed the biggest threat. And so he was the first target: the old man threw two rocks, one at the boy's leg, the other at his chest. The boy staggered and fell backwards.

The silver-haired woman was next. One enchanted rock to the gut, and she doubled over in pain. Yes, this new enchantment worked so much better than the old one!

The boy tried to stagger to his feet, but the old man wasn't going to stand for that. He hurled another rock, one he'd given a second enchantment. The rock struck the boy in the face with a satisfying _crack; _the boy crumpled to the ground.

"I order you to stop!" the princess yelled. The woman moved back to shield the princess with her body.

The old man pulled another of the doubly-enchanted rocks out of his robe. "I will not listen to anyone who allies with a monster!" And he threw the rock. It flew true, striking the princess in the stomach and sending her reeling.

-- and then the dark-haired boy had two long, curved daggers in his hands, his eyes narrow. The old man hadn't realized the dark-haired boy was armed, but no matter. He still had the advantage.

He laughed. "What is this? A child with a pair of knives? Do you intend to fight me like that, boy?"

The boy snarled and fell into a battle stance. "I don't intend to _fight_ you, you senile fool. I intend to scatter your pieces to the wind."

The old man narrowed his eyes and readied another rock. "Very well, boy. I'll make your death slow!"

**Fade to Black  
Chapter Five: Vengeance**

He hurt Zelda. That son of a bitch hurt Zelda! Not just her; I smelled blood -- at least six people, not counting Time or Impa. Guards, most likely, like the one we'd seen die just now. Guards with families and friends and this bastard was going to pay for every last one of them!

He threw another rock. As I'd done just heartbeats ago, I used my dagger to bounce it back towards its thrower. He saw it coming and managed to dodge, barely; the rock struck the fountain. The enchantments he'd put on the stone exploded outwards in a burst of magical brilliance, shattering the fountain and filling the air with a cloud of dust.

I heard him yell as the dust blocked him from sight. I smirked. There -- motion in the dust, a shadow amongst ash. I charged and lashed out with both blades.

Somehow he managed to block both strikes with his walking stick. Damn, he was either fast for an old man or incredibly lucky. I grit my teeth and slashed out again, aiming for the stick --

_You're not _allowed_ to fight back, you old son of a bitch!_

-- and the thick, gnarled walking stick split cleanly in two. I had to laugh. He cursed and tried to swat at me with the two pieces of his staff, but I danced easily out of the way. He finally threw one of the pieces away, holding the larger like a club. Hmm, clever.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn't very good with it. I watched him flail uselessly at the air for a moment, easily dodging every one of his attacks. His swing was too wild to be of any real use; he kept leaving himself open. This was too easy, really; he was such a pathetic little weakling when he couldn't use his magic.

I stepped to the side of another clumsy swing before lashing out with a swing of my own, aiming for his wrist. My blade sliced straight through his wrist, cloth and skin and flesh and bone all as nothing beneath the sharp edge. He screamed -- oh, did he _scream_! His right hand fell in a graceful arc from the stump of his wrist to the ground, blood painting the air crimson.

I laughed and flipped away from him. The air smelled like his blood now. I licked my lips, savoring the taste. His severed hand twitched a couple of times and then stopped moving.

_Effortless._

He hit his knees, wrapping his new stump in the folds of his robe and doubling over in pain.

"What's the matter? You were ready to kill me a moment ago. Where'd all your fight go?"

"Monster," he snarled, "you're _toying _with me. I should have expected no less from someone so evil."

"Toying? You haven't seen toying, _bastard_. Now, if you want toying, by all means, I'll be more than happy to toy with you all you'd like. But first, answer me: who are you and why did you just attack the princess?"

He glared at me, recognition burning in his eyes. "How did you survive, you foul beast? I cast you away! I sealed you!"

I knew him from somewhere, but where? "I have my ways," I said, my voice little more than a growl. "Answer my questions."

"It's him, isn't it? You have him so deluded and convinced he's your brother that he uses his powers to protect you!"

Now I knew where I knew him from: he was the senile old hermit who hit me with that damned rock and then threw me over the mountains. Was he behind what happened to Lake Hylia?

I narrowed my eyes and snarled, "Answer my questions, _maggot_, or I'll rip your tongue out!"

_And I will._

Somewhere nearby, away from the fight but still close, I heard a soft gasp. I glanced that direction, saw nothing that seemed to pose a threat, and then snapped my head back towards the hermit. He took advantage of that distraction and staggered to his feet, still clutching his bloody stump.

"Very well, monster. I'll answer you... and listen well, Princess," he said, raising his voice. "I am here to cleanse Hyrule of the evil that pervades it. It is an evil beast that destroys land after land as it passes through, leaving only death in its wake. Any and all who aid it and grant shelter to it are evil and must be destroyed along with it!"

"And why, pray tell, are you so convinced that such a thing is here?" A woman's voice. _Zelda's_ voice.

He scowled. "I have been tracking this beast for months now. It has been coming this way, therefore this kingdom is next. I have come here to slay the shadow-phantom and all who shelter it! Help me destroy it and save your kingdom!"

"Shadow-phantom?"

I snorted. Awfully talkative for a man with one hand... though from the looks of things, he'd managed to slow the bleeding. It wasn't as fun when he didn't bleed.

"It is a man, yet it is not a man. He stands taller than any other man, with a sword as large as he is across his back and an impossibly dark and large shadow that stretches out forever like a void. This shadow is alive and will tear itself apart and wrap around other people, devouring them from the inside out!"

"Is such a thing true?"

"You couldn't even pick one of the more fun variations to tell? How about the one where looking into the man's eyes means the shadow is devouring your soul? Oh, right; you're too senile to remember any of the good ones, aren't you?" I was sick of all this shadow-phantom bullshit. I didn't eat people. I killed them when they deserved it, but I didn't eat them. Why would I _want_ to?

"How can you joke about such a creature, boy? Have you seen the carnage it leaves behind it?"

I sneered. "If you think any of that is carnage, you're more sheltered than I thought. Besides, _I'm _the one those stories are about!" And then I lunged, not even giving him a chance to react. I could see it in his eyes, the fear; he thought I was going to devour him, didn't he? I scored a solid hit to his stomach and pulled away again.

_A little here, a little there, and all the while his wrist is bleeding..._

"You... you monster..."

"You said that already," I said flatly, feigning interest in the blood gleaming on my blades. "Besides, if you're hunting your shadow-phantom, you don't have any reason to attack the princess. So why are you really here?"

"I am here to destroy the shadow-phantom and all who shelter it!"

I grinned. If all he wanted to do was repeat himself, I'd rather hear him screaming. "You had your chance. Now it's _my_ turn."

"What are you talk--?" His voice faltered mid-word as I leapt at him and struck. One blade slid almost effortlessly in and up through the slash in his stomach, the metal slicing easily through cloth and skin. His head jerked down as he cried out in pain, and I took that chance to impale the tip of his tongue with the tip of my other blade.

I just stood there, watching him with a bloodthirsty grin on my face. He was trying to stay as still as possible, staring at me with wide, pleading eyes. Like staring Death in the face, I thought. I wondered if that was what I had looked like when I'd first seen Ganon.

Ganon looked so much better once he was flat on his fat stomach in a massive pool of his own vile blood, the Master Sword gleaming from where it cleaved his ugly head in two. Damned shame he'd hadn't just laid there and bled to death.

_This_ fool, on the other hand... I grinned wider. I could read it in his eyes, the unspoken _no, please, I beg you, don't kill me!_ I'd seen that many times before, but the answer was always no. By the time the battle reached the point where my opponent could beg for his life, he was already waiting to die. Like always, he had his chance to live, and he wasted it.

_I don't make idle threats._

With a quick flick of my wrist and a yank of my arm, I ripped his tongue out of his head. At the same time, I gave the blade in his stomach a hard twist. He screamed and started choking on his own blood. I flicked his tongue off my blade and held it up, debating if I should play with his guts a little while longer or go straight for his heart and put him out of his misery.

"Shadow!"

Then again, he was going to bleed to death if given time anyway, so it didn't really matter if I got his heart or not. Besides, he didn't deserve to die easily; he could just suffer for the minutes it would take him to bleed out. I ripped the blade out of his stomach, sneering at his weak gurgle of pain, and shook the skin and tissue off of it before ramming in through his thigh.

_You haven't bled enough yet._

"Shadow! _Stop it_!"

I heard footsteps moving rapidly towards me. Someone dared to try to ambush me? I turned towards the sound, aiming my free blade at the figure charging me.

"Shadow, please! Just... just stop this; I beg you!"

No weapon; not a threat. Blonde hair, torn dress, face wet with tears... What kind of pathetic attack was this supposed to be?

"Princess, stay back!"

_Princess_? I blinked. Zelda? Yes, the figure before me _was_ Zelda. I stood up slowly, suddenly all too aware of the hot blood splattered across me and the soft, pathetic gurgling noises made by the dying man at my feet. Zelda looked terrified -- absolutely and totally terrified.

My arm fell uselessly to my side; my blade clattered to the square. What was I _doing?_ I was aiming one of my blades at Zelda! I started to move, towards her or away from her I didn't know, but I stumbled and fell to the cold, hard ground.

xXx

We'd returned to the castle without further event, thankfully. Zelda stood before one of the massive windows in the sitting room, silent and pale. I wanted to talk to her, but I didn't know what I could say, not after what had happened. So instead I paced back and forth along the length of the table.

I tried not to think of the last several hours... of Zelda getting hurt, of Shadow losing it, of the look of terror on Zelda's face as she watched Shadow tear that man apart, of the hurried discussion with Impa as to where Link had gone and who Shadow and I were... It didn't work; I couldn't keep those thoughts out of my head. I sighed and rubbed my cheek along the edge of the bandage. I didn't really see much point in wearing the bandage -- while there was a shallow cut, the rock mostly just broke my nose. I didn't need a bandage for a broken nose.

But Zelda had insisted on having it bandaged, and I'd humored her. That simple action had visibly calmed her, though she was still shook up. And I didn't know what I could say that wouldn't make the situation worse.

"Link...?" Zelda finally said, her voice little more than a whisper. "What... what happened out there?"

She'd mistaken me for my whole, or was she even talking to me? I decided I'd answer. "He does that sometimes."

"I saw... why?"

I sighed. "You got hurt." Even after turning back time, Zelda was Zelda. I -- and Shadow, and Link -- couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt. We were supposed to protect her.

She walked over, slowly, and sat in one of the chairs. "I don't understand... He... he didn't act like that earlier. I never would have imagined that he would -- that he could --"

"He..." I shook my head slowly, trying to figure out how best to put this. "Shadow and I have different ways of fighting. Normally, he fights like anyone else, but he's got a bit of a temper," which was a bit of an understatement, I thought darkly, "and if he ever gets pushed far enough to make him snap, he... He snaps. And things get messy."

"What that man said troubles me. Are the stories of this shadow-phantom true? Does Shadow eat people?"

"No. The stories of the shadow-phantom are merely people projecting their problems onto a traveler with an unusual appearance. Shadow doesn't eat people. A person's shadow can be tainted by evil, and sometimes he destroys that evil. When he does, the person's shadow fades for a few days. Some people might think that means he took their soul."

"But he doesn't eat people."

"No, he doesn't. I'm sorry that you had to see that."

She sat up straight, looking more like the princess she was. "It is not for you to apologize, Time. I have seen far worse in the other Hyrule. This is only temporary, correct? Shadow will calm down?"

"Yes. He was in a sort of trance, and you pulled him out of it." I stopped pacing, standing near her chair. "When he wakes up --"

"When he wakes up, he is to explain to me where he got these knives," Impa hissed as she strode into the room, carrying one of Shadow's blades. "This is made of no metal that I have ever seen, and it bears the aura of strong shadow magic." She glanced over at me. "Do you know anything about these?"

"Impa, how is he doing?" Zelda asked, leaning forward a bit in her chair.

Impa sighed and sat down. "For now, he is sleeping. He doesn't appear to be hurt." She looked down at the blade in her hand and set it on the table. "How are you fairing, Princess?"

"I am unhurt, merely a bit overwhelmed."

"I will help however I can."

"Thank you, Impa, but all I require is a chance to collect my thoughts."

Impa nodded and then turned to me. "Then what do you know about these knives? I'll save my questions for him, but I would like an explanation if you can offer it."

I sat down to keep myself from pacing again. "He got them about four years ago, not long after we left Rinas -- he's the one who basically saved our lives. When we met him, we were lost and confused and were so afraid of each other that we couldn't control our forms. Rinas helped us make sense of everything that happened... as much as we can make sense of this, anyway.

"After we left his hut, we just wandered here and there, doing odd jobs when we needed money, helping people when we could, and generally just exploring. Between the two of us, we only had one sword, and I carried it since Shadow was usually acting as my shadow. One day we met a woman and her children trying to get to a nearby city. She said that they needed to get to the city to be safe through the winter, but her husband hadn't returned from fighting in a war in the region, and there were bandits along the road. She wasn't certain that she and her children could make it to the city alive, so we decided to act as her escort."

Zelda smiled weakly at that. "You cannot walk by someone in need without offering to help, can you?"

I shrugged. "They just needed an escort, and we were heading that direction anyway, so..." Neither of us could walk past a scared woman and her terrified children and _not_ offer to help.

"Even so, you know that there are plenty who would ignore a stranger in need of aid."

I noted that she'd slipped again but decided against mentioning it. "And plenty did; she was getting pretty frantic. No matter. Point is, we were escorting her and her children to the city when bandits attacked us. We weren't far at all from the city; we could see the gates from where we were. So I distracted them while she and her children ran for the gates.

"Unfortunately, one of the bandits seemed to figure out the plan, and he took off after the family. I couldn't chase him down with all of the others coming after me at once. I felt Shadow pull away from me. The next thing I knew, I heard screams, and I saw Shadow tearing through the group of bandits like a madman using these blades."

I reached over and picked the blade up; it felt strangely unbalanced. "The only explanation he's ever been able to give me is that as he rushed forward to attack, they just appeared in his hands. All I know about them is that they hold their edge like nothing I've seen short of the Master Sword itself, and no smith has ever seen this kind of metal before. We've asked quite a few over our travels, too." I leaned back in my chair, twirling the blade between my fingers.

And Shadow knew how to use those twin blades to deadly effect since the moment he got them. I remembered the fight with the bandits, namely how one-sided it was once Shadow charged into the fray. He ripped one bandit's jaw off, gutted a second like a fish, yanked a third's ribcage from his chest... I'd never seen him fight like that before... but before that day, the only time I'd really ever seen him fight was during the battle with Majora, and he hadn't been armed then.

Impa seemed to be staring through me again. "Has he always had such a brutal way of fighting?"

I sighed and stared down at the blade in my hand. "Yes. The only reason I can come up with for why he fights as he does is... well, he said it himself. He's all the rage and hate and fear and nightmares Link's ever been through."

Zelda closed her eyes. "Does he have nightmares, Time?"

"I don't know. Link has them sometimes, as do I. I'm not even sure if Shadow considers what you or I would call a nightmare to be anything of note. He says he dreams, but he never talks about them. I don't talk about mine, either."

"Why don't you?" She looked like she wanted to walk over to my chair, but she stayed seated. She looked sad, sad and sympathetic.

I shook my head; I didn't have any real desire to talk about this. "We just don't." I stood up. "Now, Princess, Impa, if you will excuse me, I'm going to try and get some rest."

"We could all use the rest," Impa said.

"Very well," Zelda replied with a slight nod. "We will speak more of this in the morning."

"As you wish, Princess." And then I left.

It didn't take long to stagger down the hallway and into my room. Shadow was curled up beneath the sheets. He'd woken up since Impa left; I could hear him muttering to himself.

_Go away_, he hissed in my head.

"Shadow, are you all right?"

"Go _away_, damn it."

I closed the door and locked it, sighing. "Not until you stop moping around."

"I'm _not_ moping," he said, his voice shaky and rough. "I'm _fine._ Now leave me alone."

"Clearly you _aren't_ fine," I snapped, falling into a chair before setting the blade Impa had taken by its twin on the small table. "If you were, you wouldn't be curled up talking to yourself."

Shadow didn't say anything for a few minutes. "So, Time," he finally said. "When's my execution?"

"You don't have one. Zelda's scared and more than a little shaken up -- though not all of that is your doing -- but I believe I convinced her that you aren't evil and that you aren't going to tear her into pieces. Impa, now, wants to talk to you about your blades."

He growled softly. "I wish she hadn't touched my blade -- it'll take days to clean her shadow off of them..." He shifted position on the bed, sitting up while staying wrapped in the sheets. "Let me guess. She wants me to tell her where I got them and what they're made of."

"Bull's-eye."

"You look weird with that bandage on, you know that?"

"Shadow, I don't need you harassing me about a simple bandage. That rock broke my nose, and Zelda insists that I leave this on. I'm humoring her."

He snickered. "You look like you have a beak."

"_Quiet_, you."

Shadow just stared at me; I stared back. At I watched, the corners of his mouth twitched, and then slowly his scowl turned into a broad grin.

I knew that look all too well. "Shadow, don't you even say it."

"Say what?" he asked innocently, unwrapping the sheets from around him and tossing them onto the bed next to him.

"You know what." I scowled. It had been much easier to forget the fight earlier when the sheets were covering up his bloody clothing. I reached up and scratched underneath the edge of my bandage. I'd been careless earlier, and I didn't appreciate him taunting me for it.

Shadow snickered again.

I shot him a harsh glare. "Do I even want to know what you find so amusing about this?"

He laughed, and then he started to watch me, that highly amused grin still on his face.

Thankfully, the history book was right where I'd left it earlier, so I picked it up and opened it to a random page. I didn't particularly feel like reading, what with my headache, but maybe it could convince Shadow to behave.

Shadow clucked.

In hindsight, I should've know that my plan was a pathetic one. "Shadow, keep your mouth shut, or I'll shut it for you."

"You're not in the best shape for a fight, now are you?" he replied. Judging by his tone of voice, he was smirking. And then he was silent.

I kept staring at the book, hoping that maybe, just once, he'd lose interest.

Instead, he clucked again.

No flinching, I told myself. That would only give him incentive to continue...

He laughed. "Hey, Time, is it sunrise yet?"

"What?" I lowered the book and glared at him, confused. "What are you going on about now?"

He flowed to his feet -- which was oddly disturbing as blood-stained as he was -- and smirked. Then he clucked again.

"Shadow, either you start making sense or one of us is going to have to find somewhere else to sleep."

"You look like a cucco."

What was I supposed to say in response to _that_? "A cucco."

"Yeah. A really big, really pissed off cucco." He grinned.

"All right, you think I look like a cucco. I think you look like you rolled across the floor of a slaughterhouse. I fail to see your point," I snapped. "And I don't think I _want_ to see your point, either."

He crossed his arms and chuckled, narrowing his eyes. "What are you going to do, you poor angry, little cucco? Call all your little cucco friends to come beat me up for you?"

"No," I replied, standing up and setting the book down. "I'm more than capable of handling that myself."

"Oh, you are, are you?"

Enough! I lunged at him.

He easily sidestepped. "Ooh, poor little cucco's got his feathers all ruffled now."

"Shadow, you compare me to a cucco again, and I'll give you _ruffled." _I leaned against the windowsill and closed my eyes. My headache had gone from a dull throb to a heavy pounding with the motion, and I mentally cursed myself for being an idiot.

At the same time, however, the idea of a fight right now -- even if it was merely the two of us sparring -- sounded good. I took several slow, deep breaths, trying to shut out the pain. It seemed stupid to want to fight after what had happened earlier, but maybe that was why I felt like this. Maybe I needed the release.

"Poor, poor hurt little cucco," Shadow said, simply.

"That's enough, you!" I grabbed my sword off the dresser, drew it, and pointed it at him. "I have had more than enough of you calling me a cucco!"

"Ooh, look! This cucco has a sword." His smirk faded into a determined scowl; his voice gained an angry edge. "Very well, little bird, if you insist..." He reached over and picked up his blades, flicking them into a ready position.

And we stared at each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Then we moved together, both lunging at each other in the same instant. Our blades clashed loudly.

I narrowly dodged his off blade and rolled backwards, looking for something I could use as a makeshift shield. I settled on a large, heavy brass candlestick. It wasn't the best substitute, but it could deflect that blade well enough.

Shadow laughed, watching me. "Poor cucco... he doesn't even have his shield." The words were taunting; his voice was predatory; his eyes were laughing. "All the better for the butcher to shear you!" He moved --

-- and I blocked. Blade with sword; blade with candlestick. We leaned in close, each trying to push the other back and away. "Shear sheep, pluck cuccos," I said before shoving him backwards.

"Really?" The predatory tone vanished, replaced by a more normal one. "_Damn_. I always get those mixed up."

I just shook my head and twirled the candlestick, continuing to ignore my headache. I needed this. I couldn't explain why, but I needed this.

"You were saying?"

"Ah, right!" He made a _come on_ gesture with his blades. "All the better for the butcher to _pluck_ you!"

I charged.

We met in the middle of the room and stayed there, swinging and thrusting and parrying, neither getting a hit. Our blades tangled, and we staggered apart when we pulled them free. Well, I staggered away; Shadow flowed away, lashing out and taking off a few strands of hair with a swing I didn't see.

"Stop playing dirty!" I snapped.

"What? Does the cucco not like it when his feathers get plucked?" He laughed.

"_Stop calling me a cucco_!" I roared, heaving the candlestick in his direction. He threw one of his blades, apparently to knock the candlestick away from him.

He missed.

The blade nicked my right cheek and flew on to clatter against the wall. I hissed in pain. The candlestick struck him right above his left eyebrow with a loud _smack_; Shadow dropped his other blade and fell to his knees, holding his head.

"I thought you said you were going to rest, not attack your other half." Impa's voice. She stood in the now-open doorway, sliding the key back into a pocket. She didn't look the least bit pleased.

I reached up and wiped at my bleeding cheek before muttering, "I was trying to rest, but he wouldn't let me." I decided to leave out the part where I was enjoying the fight.

"Is that why you just threw a candlestick at him?" Impa snapped before walking over to where Shadow lay on his back, knees against his chest. She pulled his hands off of his forehead and scowled. He was bleeding, too.

"He deserved it." I hadn't been aiming _at_ him; I threw it just to get his attention. Besides, we were sparring. Sometimes we got hurt.

"Why does everything have to go for my _head_? There's more to me than just that!" Shadow said, his voice shaking. "Damn it!"

"Get up," Impa said, shaking her head. "I need to bandage that. I will be _right back_, and I expect the two of you to stay exactly where you are, understand?" She left.

He staggered to his feet and fell onto the bed, wiping at the blood on his forehead. He glared at me. I wiped my cheek again and glared back.

"You threw a candlestick at me."

"You threw one of your blades at me," I replied.

He shrugged. "Well, at least it's nothing serious."

"No, just a couple of cuts." Much better than the last time we sparred; I shattered my sword and Shadow nearly broke his wrist. Cuts would heal, and they wouldn't even take long to do it.

Impa walked back into the room. "You should both be thankful the princess' room is far enough away that she couldn't hear the commotion... unless you two wish to explain why you were attacking each other." She bandaged his forehead.

"We were sparring. That's all," Shadow said softly.

She walked over to me and bandaged my cheek. "Sparring? In the castle in the middle of the night? I would have thought that you had been violent enough for a while, but perhaps I was wrong."

He looked away.

"Now, I expect the two of you to actually get some rest. If I hear any more noise coming from this room, I think I'll throw the both of you into the dungeon for the night. I don't care what the two of you have done while you traveled, but right now you are in Hyrule Castle, and I expect the two of you to act at least somewhat civilized, am I clear?"

"Yes," we both replied.

"Good." She gave us one last stern look, and then she left. The lock clicked into place.

"Well, it was a good fight while it lasted," Shadow said, rubbing his new bandage.

I nodded. It was, actually; aside from the cut on my cheek, I feel a bit better now. "I think next time we should find somewhere with a bit more room."

"Yeah, and a bit farther away from Impa." He looked over at me. "You know, with that other bandage on, you don't look like a cucco anymore."

"Good. I was getting tired of being called that."

"It got you in the mood to spar, didn't it?"

Yes, but now my headache was coming back with a vengeance. I yawned.

"Tired? Yeah, I am, too." Shadow flopped down onto the bed and wrapped the blanket around him. "I say it's time for sleep, now."

Wait; I had to sleep in that bed and he was still... "At least get out of those bloody clothes!"

"I'm already comfy..."

I just sighed.

xXx

"_Regin is dead."_

"_It matters not to me, Elis. Regin was weak."_

_Elis stares at the ice and scowls. He can't accept that. It is the guards of Hyrule who are supposed to be weak, not Regin. "I still don't like this. This implies that there is someone able to counter his magic."_

"_Perhaps, and perhaps not. Regin may have dropped his guard at the wrong time. Besides, he has always been a fool. It was far too easy to convince a man like that to join our cause. All we had to do was mention that silly shadow-phantom tale. Hah! What kind of a man travels far, far from home because of a tavern tale?"_

_Elis raises his glare to the sky. "Yet the plan was to let Regin take the castle town."_

"_Actually, no. That has never been part of my plan. The fool was so determined to do it that I decided I might as well let him. If it worked, then it worked. If it didn't, which I highly suspected would be the outcome, then you and I simply continue with our plan._

"_Besides, it is far, far more fun to do things this way. Hyrule needs to pay, and pay it shall..."_


	9. Chapter 6: Bandages

He clung to his steed, staying as low as he could while urging his horse faster. The pain in his side grew more and more intense with every jolt and bump, the wound slowly tearing itself wider, but he didn't care. He _couldn't_ care.

He had to get back to Hyrule Castle. He _had_ to tell the Princess what he'd seen at the lake! He was the only one left; if he didn't make it, then no one else would know about...

His horse jumped something he didn't see. He was unprepared for the sudden change in motion and lost his precarious grip on the horse's tack. The impact wasn't as painful as he'd thought it would be, but he was so numb now... He staggered to his feet, hoping to coax his horse close enough to climb back on.

He never got the chance. A loud snarl came from behind him and he whirled around, praying he was imagining things even as he went for his sword.

He wasn't.

His screams only panicked his horse more.

**Fade to Black  
****Chapter Six: Bandages and Battleplans**

Ow.

It wasn't every day I woke up with my body on a bed and my head on the floor. Nor was it every day that I woke up feeling like a Goron had rolled into me at full speed, either. I tried to pull myself back up onto the bed, but between the ache in my head and the stiffness in my back, I wasn't the slightest bit graceful this morning.

I tumbled the rest of the way off the bed and slammed my already-sore head into the little table next to it.

Good morning, Link. Hope you didn't need that head of yours... I thought darkly as I managed to sit up. My memories of last night were too hazy to piece together in any really coherent fashion, but I knew it hadn't been a good night. A rock to the face, a cut to the cheek, a candlestick to the head... The halves bickering and fighting, something about Shadow getting in a fight... and, strangely enough, something about a cucco.

Never mind that, I told myself, staggering to my feet and over to the mirror. I looked as bad as I felt. There were bandages all over me, forehead, nose, left cheek, and my clothing was stiff with dried blood. My hair stuck up in odd directions. It didn't even look like hair, really, not with all the blood in it.

I needed a bath, even more so considering I was at Hyrule Castle. I didn't know how royalty and guests of royalty were supposed to dress, as the only times I'd ever been here before I'd worn the same thing I wore everywhere else. I _did_ know that guests of royalty weren't supposed to walk around the castle looking half-dead.

With that thought, I staggered out into the hallway. Yesterday, Impa had said something about a bath in one of the nearby rooms... which one was it again? The first door I tried was an empty bedroom, the second the sitting room. The third door, well, it wasn't the door I had been looking for...

The third door opened up into Zelda's quarters. I knew this because she was standing on the other side of the door, Impa behind her, when I opened it.

"Link, are you all right?" Zelda asked.

I whirled around to stare at the wall across the hallway, except the motion made the hallway decide to spin around me. I leaned back, forgetting that the door was wide open, and ended up leaning against something tall and warm.

"On your feet, you," Impa snapped, shoving me off of her. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Next thing I knew, Impa was shoving me into the room with the bath. "Here. You get those bloody clothes off and clean up, and meanwhile I will try to find something presentable for you to wear."

I _wanted_ to call out a loud, sarcastic "Yes, Mother" after her, but the pounding in my head wasn't liking any noise louder than bare feet on carpet right now. So I muttered it instead.

Zelda giggled. Wait. What was she doing here?

"I'm going to help you get those bandages off."

Had I said that out loud? "Oh. Don't you have servants for that?"

She glared at me. "I am _not_ helpless. Besides, it wouldn't be right to just throw you to the side, not after all you did for Hyrule."

"I did that in the other time, not this one."

"So? I remember what you did. I also remember we used to be friends. I'd like to think that _that_ hasn't changed."

My mind came up with several responses to that, all of which I tried to say at once. _Kiss her! "I love you!" Are you crazy? I can't kiss her! Does she love me? Do I love her? I would like to think we're still friends. Can we still be friends? I knew you once. You knew me once. "_You don't know us."

And then I smacked my forehead with my palm. Of all the things to actually _say_, why did it have to be the cruelest one?

"Link, we need to change those bandages," Zelda said quickly. I don't remember her _ever_ getting mad at me. I remembered annoying her with childish pranks, but she never did get mad. She preferred to get even. But now she sounded more like she was ordering me around than anything...

I found a chair and sat down. Part of my mind screamed at me for following orders. I wasn't someone's toy, was I? Right now I was acting like one. My head was pounding and aching and fuzzy and Zelda never snapped at me before and I'm so confused I don't know what to do. Besides, I needed to get this blood off of me, and I'd have to take the bandages off to clean off what was underneath. Or something like that. Anyway, I needed to get them off me.

Zelda started with the bandage around my forehead. "Maybe I don't know you as well as I once did, but... I don't think you've changed all that much." Her tone hadn't softened much. "If what Ganon did to Hyrule in the other time didn't change you, I fail to see how eight years away from Hyrule could."

"You didn't live those eight years, either," I replied bitterly. "You didn't relive a nightmare over and over." Termina. I'd once thought the name was an omen: the end of my grand adventures in the name of destiny. It was the end of something, but ironically, it was a beginning, too. I snorted. Of course it was a beginning; time loves cycles. Death, birth. Day, night. Cold, hot. War, peace.

"And _you_ didn't have to stand helplessly by as a vile man destroyed your kingdom."

"_You_ didn't have to send spirits to the beyond! You didn't have to bury great warriors all by yourself!"

"You didn't have to disguise yourself, to live every moment fearing discovery."

I glared at her. "You weren't torn in two by your own stupidity!"

"You didn't have to pretend to be someone completely different." She glared back.

"I don't need to _pretend_, Princess. I _am _someone completely different."

"_Liar_."

"How do you know?" I snapped. "You don't know me!"

"You came back, didn't you? You trusted me enough to tell me what happened to you. Anytime you want to leave, _Hero of Time_, the door's open. You don't even have to ever come back. If you don't want to stay in Hyrule, then don't. Go back to wherever it was you came from. Forget about Hyrule and Impa and Ganon and me and everyone else you ever knew."

"I never said I didn't want to stay here! I never said I wanted to forget any of you!"

Zelda reached over and tapped her finger against the uninjured side of my forehead. "If you're completely different, why would you still feel so strongly towards your past? If you were different, it wouldn't matter. The people you called "friends" wouldn't be the kind of people you'd want to be around anymore." She smirked. "Therefore, if you still have feelings for Hyrule and your old friends -- which you apparently do -- then at least part of you must still be Link. _Therefore_, you're lying about being completely different."

There was probably some hole in that, but I couldn't see it. I sighed. "I'm not lying about being different."

She went back to slowly removing the bandages. "Of course you aren't. I am not the Zelda you remember, at least not entirely. I've lived eight years that didn't involve Ganon or Sheik or anything resembling the destruction of Hyrule. Yet I still remember it from my other life. Even though I have lived a different life this time, it has all been shadowed by the image of what had been and what still could be if I grow too careless."

Zelda stood up and then curtsied to me, the glare gone. When she spoke, her tone was soft and friendly. "Hi. I'm Zelda."

I stared at her for a few heartbeats. Eight years, and she was still the Zelda I remembered...

"Link," I replied, standing up and bowing to her. "Pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well." She smiled. "There. Now let's get these bandages off, shall we?"

xXx

Amazingly enough, Impa hadn't given me anything too fancy to wear; I'd been afraid she was going to try to dress me like a prince. Instead, I was wearing a simple green tunic and brown breeches. The tunic had some fancy design weaving along the edges, but I didn't see that as a big problem. It fit, mostly, and it wasn't uncomfortable or restricting. And I didn't look like an idiot in it, either.

Impa also brought the news that a horse had been found not far from Lon Lon Ranch. Malon had managed to calm it down, as it was found in full panic, its reins caught on one of the fences. The horse bore the insignia of the Royal Guard on its tack, so it had been brought to the castle.

Apparently Zelda had sent out a small team of guards out to investigate the lake, and the last time anyone had seen or heard any sign of that team had been when Impa went out to the lake to get me. Until the horse this morning.

I found Zelda in the sitting room, sipping at some tea. She looked nervous.

"Princess," I said simply, bowing to her. "Has Impa told you her news?"

"Yes, she has. I was hoping you'd accompany me down to the stables. I would like to examine this horse."

That didn't surprise me; of course she would. I nodded to her and held out my arm. "All right, Princess, shall we?"

She took my arm, and we headed through the castle towards the stables. The horse had been placed at the very back of the stable, well away from all of the other horses. It stood calmly in its stall, its tack still on, nibbling on some hay.

That reminded me. I needed to go by the ranch and see Epona. I hoped she was at the ranch, at least.

I pushed that thought away for the moment and walked over to lean on the stall door. The horse didn't seem injured, but one of its sides was covered in dried blood. Not just the horse, either; saddle, saddlebags, stirrup, blanket -- everything on that side was caked in it.

The horse didn't seem to like my presence either, nostrils flaring. It stamped the stall floor. I started to reach towards the bloody part of the saddle, but the horse pulled away. Malon had been able to calm it down, and I'd seen a guard walk out of the stall as Zelda and I approached. The horse had been calm around both of them. Was there something about me that the horse didn't like?

I leaned back, deciding to keep my distance. I didn't want to panic the poor thing; it had already been through a lot.

"What do you think, Link?"

"This horse carried someone who was badly bleeding. Some kind of wound to the rider's right side. The horse was found alone, right?"

"Yes, sir," one of the guards answered.

I nodded. "Then something happened to either knock him off... or he got off on his own." That wasn't much help, but I couldn't say anything else. The rider had somehow gotten off the horse, willingly or not, or he would've been found draped over its back. "Was there any sign of a rider?"

"No, sir. We've got men scouring the field, but nothing yet."

"Hmm." I could think of several things that might attack travelers, but this wasn't a regular traveler. This was one of Hyrule's Royal Guard. He had combat training. He also should've had some basic healing supplies with him... "I don't like this."

"Link...?" Zelda put her hand on my arm.

"I'm done. Has Impa been by yet?"

"Yes, sir. The Princess is to be the last to see the horse before we clean it off."

I nodded. "Whenever you're ready, Princess."

"I'm finished," Zelda said. "Do as you must."

We headed back up to the sitting room. Impa stood by the window, turning as we walked through the door. Zelda sat down. I walked over to the window, looking out at a clear blue sky.

"I take it you checked on the horse," Impa said, walking over to stand next to Zelda's chair.

"Yes, we have. Link doesn't like this," Zelda replied. She picked at her skirt.

"And the horse doesn't like me," I added. "Something about me scares it, so I didn't spend much time near it. I still got enough of a look at its tack to know something isn't right."

Impa looked thoughtful. "Do horses always act that way around you?"

"Some do, some don't," I said, a little too quickly. Granted, I hadn't been around _that_ many horses, but the ones I was around either loved me or wanted to run from me. Oddly enough, horses loved Time, but Shadow made them nervous.

She gave me an odd look. "I got a report a few moments ago, for you, Princess. It seems they've found the rider. Or what's left of him, anyway. Something tore him apart."

Then, judging by all the blood on his horse, the rider had most likely fallen off while attempting to get away from whatever ultimately killed him. The horse was lucky. I narrowed my eyes. No doubt the horse only survived because the attacker was distracted by the fallen rider.

"And where was he found?" Zelda asked, standing up.

"About an hour's ride from Lon Lon Ranch, towards Lake Hylia."

I kept staring at the window, but I wasn't looking through it anymore. I was staring at my reflection. "We need to investigate the lake."

"We already are," Impa snapped.

"No. _We_ need to investigate the lake," I replied, closing my eyes as something my halves heard echoed in my head. _Sleep beneath the ice with the rest of the evil!_

"Then I'm going with you, Link," Zelda said, walking over and putting a hand on my shoulder.

Impa snapped, "This is far too dangerous for you, Princess! We cannot risk your death or capture!"

"I insist on going, Impa! I'm tired of standing by doing nothing! You know more than anyone that I've kept up my training! I can fight. I _will_ fight. And no one will be able to capture Princess Zelda of Hyrule, because Zelda won't be there."

"I'm sorry, your Highness, but I can't let you do this."

Zelda tightened her grip on my shoulder. "Impa. You know I can handle myself. I hid from Ganon for seven years, and I've had eight more years of training since then. Also, we were attacked in Castletown last night. It isn't wise to think I'd be safe if I stayed behind. Besides, we act like Princess Zelda is still safely within the castle, while we slip out and head for the lake."

Impa sighed. "It is my duty to protect you."

"I understand that. But as Princess, it is my duty to protect Hyrule," Zelda said, softly. "And I will."

"Very well. Link, protect her."

"Huh?" I turned around to face Impa. I had thought Impa would be able to convince Zelda to stay. "Aren't you coming?"

"I am Princess Zelda's protector. Therefore, if I leave the castle, it will be obvious that the princess is not in the castle. For her plan to succeed, I must stay here."

I hadn't thought of that. "That makes sense."

"And thus it is up to you, Hero of Time, to protect her."

I nodded. "I will protect her with my life." Hopefully that wouldn't be necessary.

xXx

Within the hour, Zelda and I had gathered our gear and saddled our horse. In the end, none of the horses in the stable were willing to let me get close, so we'd decided to put all our gear on Zelda's horse and then walk to Lon Lon Ranch and see if Epona could still put up with me.

Which is exactly what we did. No one paid either of us much attention as we walked out the city gate. And why would they? We looked like a pair of travelers. None of the townspeople recognized me after eight years, and Zelda was wearing a bodysuit similar to the one she'd worn when she was Sheik, long ago, complete with the face mask. This time, however, she wasn't pretending to be male. Thankfully. I couldn't bring myself to call her Sheik. No, Sheik and Zelda weren't the same person at all.

"What am I supposed to call you?" I asked once we were out of earshot of Castletown. "Obviously, I can't call you Zelda."

"I... I hadn't thought about that." She pulled her face mask down. "Any ideas, Hero?"

"No, not really. Don't call me "hero", please. I've had too many people do that. It's embarrassing." I glanced down at my boots, hoping she couldn't see the blush I felt.

She giggled. "It's just a title, one you've more than earned."

"It's not just a title! It's an expectation. People hear I'm a hero, and they think I can handle all of their problems because I'm this great hero. It's like when people call you "princess." There's a certain set of behaviors and appearances that everyone expects of you. I just can't live up to everyone else's lofty goals."

"That's an interesting way of putting it. Though I must admit, it is quite odd hearing you talk like that. It's odd enough hearing you do much talking at all." Zelda giggled again.

"Sorry. I just... I don't get to talk to people much. Most of the talking I've done in the last several months has been the halves bickering with each other."

"Oh, I don't mind at all, Link! It's just a little odd, but I like it. You have a nice voice."

I stopped. _She likes you! Kiss her! What? Impa will _kill_ you if you do that! _

Zelda stopped a few steps ahead of me, turning around. "Did I say something wrong?"

All I could do was grin like an idiot. "No, not at all. I've just never been told that before."

She smiled. "Well, it _is_ nice. Warm and friendly."

"Thank you, Zelda." I started walking again, taking care not to spook the horse.

For a few minutes, neither of us spoke, the only sound three sets of footfalls on the grass. I looked around. Hyrule Field didn't look any different now than it had the day I left. The view in all directions was the same. Even the wind was the same.

"Link, why did you leave?"

I knew that question would get asked sooner or later. I sighed. "I had to leave."

Zelda shook her head. "That's what you said the last day I saw you. But _why_ did you leave?"

I reached up and adjusted my hat. "I can't really explain it without sounding crazy..."

"Link, I know you aren't crazy. Please, tell me?"

"All right. I had a dream. I was walking across Hyrule Field towards Castletown, and then this green-haired woman stepped out from behind a tree and called my name."

"A green-haired woman?" Zelda looked over at me, an odd look on her face. "Did you see her face?"

"Yes. I couldn't describe her any better if I tried, though. She..." I shook my head. "I walked over to her. She smiled sadly at me and said that I couldn't stay. I had to leave Hyrule for the seven years I slept. I didn't ask for an explanation."

"Farore..."

I just nodded. "Sometimes I wonder if She sent me out to save Termina. Sometimes I even wonder if I was destined to get split. I doubt it. What I can piece together of that moment seems to mostly revolve around the strange things I did." I sighed. "And besides, it isn't like I really had a choice. If I hadn't triggered the split, I'd be dead and Termina would be a crater. Not to mention that Majora would still be loose in the world."

_Shut up, Link._ I kicked the ground. "I finally make it back to Hyrule, and there's trouble here, too. Lake Hylia is frozen, that crazy man attacked Castletown... So much for a nice peaceful reunion, huh?"

Zelda smiled weakly at that. "There will be plenty of time for reunions once we take care of this. You don't act like this all the time, do you?"

It was my turn for a weak smile. "Depends on which half is stronger at the moment. Time's contemplative; Shadow's cynical."

"But do _you_ act like this normally?"

Did I? I scowled. "I don't really know. Normally, when I'm around people, I split so Shadow can act as Time's shadow... I'm not really sure how Link acts."

"All right, then. I guess I will just have to find out for myself, won't I?" Zelda smirked. "Although, Link, do me a favor, please?"

"Yes?"

"Stop acting so cynical. You're home. Shouldn't you be happy?"

"I come home, and Hyrule's in danger. I should've gotten here sooner; I might have been able to prevent this!"

"Yes, and I should've paid more attention to the first reports of patches of ice on the lake. I didn't think much of them; it's nearing winter, so it isn't that unusual for a little bit of ice to form on the shores. If I had paid more attention to that, _I _might have been able to prevent this."

Zelda pulled her face mask into place. "It doesn't matter now. What is done is done, Link. It's not our job to dwell on our mistakes."

Right. Dwelling on what we should've done would only make us careless and get us killed. "It's our job to find and destroy the source of that ice."

"Exactly," she said with a wicked gleam in her eye. "And so we shall. Ah, look. There's the ranch."

xXx

I'd wondered about Lon Lon Ranch many times over the years. Was Epona safe? Would she remember me? How was Malon doing?

As it turned out, Malon met us at the gate, carrying a well-cared-for halberd. When did Malon learn to use something like that?

"Zellie!" Malon called out, pulling the gate open. "Good to see you! Are you heading out to the lake?"

"Yes, we are, Malon," Zelda replied. "Seen anything unusual lately?" We walked through the gate and into the ranch.

"Well," Malon pulled the gate shut and locked it. "About midday yesterday, an old man came by here. At first, he just seemed like some strange old traveler, but then he started talking about purging evil or something, and we decided we didn't feel comfortable having him here." She shook her head. "And as soon as we asked him to leave, he started screaming about how we were all evil and started hurling rocks at us! We're mostly okay, though Ingo's got a sprained wrist."

She holds her halberd up. "It's just as well I know how to use this thing, or it probably would've been a lot worse. I managed to hook him by the collar and throw him out while Dad and Ingo shut the gates. He threw some of his rocks at it for a while, and then he just wandered off. We haven't seen him since."

"He attacked us in Castletown last night. Apparently he caught several guards by surprise," Zelda said.

I tried to keep the image of Malon using that halberd out of my head and failed miserably. "So, uh, Malon, when did you learn to use that?"

Malon looked over at me. "Fairy Boy! You're back! I was so worried about you when Epona showed up by herself! What happened?"

"That's a really long story."

"Oh. Well, you'd better tell me sometime when we're not so busy, okay? Anyway, to answer your question, Zellie and Impa came out here to train; it's roomy and private, so what better place? And, well, I've had nightmares about an evil man taking over the ranch and hurting the horses, so I wanted to learn to protect them. Impa decided that a polearm was a good choice, so I started training with this.

"I'm not the only one, though! Ingo's a great shot with a crossbow, and Dad's got this huge axe he uses. Not that any of us really use our weapons for much besides practice, except for yesterday, but just knowing that I _can_ fight makes me feel better."

I stopped and glanced back and forth at the two women, trying not to dwell on Zelda's muscled form beneath the bodysuit or the practiced way Malon carried the halberd. Two of my best friends had become warriors while I'd been away.

"What's wrong, Fairy Boy?"

I narrowed my eyes at Malon. "For starters, it's _Link_, not "Fairy Boy." For another, you know how to fight! What happened while I was gone to make you want to do that?"

"I told you; I had a bad nightmare. Besides, I realized that I can't just sit back and wait for help if something happens. I have to take charge. Besides, now no one will ever hurt my horses!" She grinned. "You two are heading to the lake, right? Because of the horse I found early this morning?"

Zelda nodded.

"Can you two handle it? If you need help, I'd be more than happy to give you some."

I looked over at Zelda and then glanced over at the corral. I didn't want to think about this right now; all I was doing was trying to figure out what I could've done differently, and there was nothing I could have done. "I think I'll let you two figure that out. I'm going to go check on Epona."

"She's out in the corral, same as always. You _do_ remember her song, right?" Malon asked with a wink.

"Of course I do! I wouldn't forget something important like that!" _Or Zelda's Lullaby, or the Song of Time..._

I walked into the corral, looking around at all the horses. This hadn't changed over the years at least. Epona stood off to one side, munching on some grass. I started to walk towards her, but then I stopped.

Last time I'd seen her, she'd bolted from me. Would she even come when I called her?

Hesitantly, I pulled the Ocarina of Time out of its pouch and played Epona's Song, closing my eyes as I always did. And I kept them closed, even after I'd finished the song and lowered the Ocarina to my side.

Something large and warm nudged my shoulder. I slowly opened one eye and saw Epona standing there. I opened the other eye. She was still there, looking just like she had when I'd rescued her from Ingo.

"Epona!" I cried out, throwing my arms around her neck. "I've missed you, girl."

Epona just leaned her neck down and sniffed at the pouch on my right hip. That had been where I'd kept treats for her back when she traveled with me.

"Sorry, girl, I don't have anything right now. I'll have to go get you some." I straightened up and started towards the stable, wondering if Malon still kept the carrots in the same bin in the barn and what Epona thought of Time and Shadow.

I didn't see Zelda or Malon outside anymore. They must've gone inside the house to talk. I stopped and looked around. I was the only one outside, at least that I could see, the ranch calm and peaceful. Some things never changed.

Epona nudged my back, and I laughed. "You know where I'm going, don't you, Epona? I'm moving, see?"

"Oh, Fairy Boy!" Malon called from over by the house.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that!" I crossed my arms in annoyance as she walked over to me, a pair of saddlebags slung over one shoulder. Wait, why did she have saddlebags? "What're those for?"

"I've got to carry my gear somehow, don't I?" Malon handed me a couple of carrots. "Here. I think Epona's getting impatient..."

I offered one of the carrots to Epona, and the horse snatched it eagerly from my hand. "What do you mean, "your gear"?"

Malon just shook her head. "I need supplies if I'm traveling."

"_What_? Where are you going?"

"With you, Fairy Boy." She grinned. "Zellie thinks it's a great idea to have another weapon-arm around, just in case you need to fight someone or something. Got to be prepared, right?"

I just stared at her. I should've know this was going to happen. "But... what if you get hurt?"

"Oh, don't worry! I can handle myself. I'm happy you're concerned, but I'm tough. I work on a ranch, after all."

"All right," I said with a sigh, holding the other carrot out for Epona before muttering, "I'd feel horrible if either of you gets hurt..."

Malon stepped over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Link, I _can_ fight. Impa made sure of that. And besides, you and Zellie will be with me, right? We can all watch over each other."

I sighed again and then nodded. She had a point. Besides, how better to protect them than to have them _right next _to me? I knew I could handle myself, and if Impa had trained Zelda and Malon, then... I'd be there, I reminded myself. If anything were to go wrong, I'd be right there...

"Are you coming, Fairy Boy? Zellie says she'd like to get as far as we can before nightfall."

"Yeah, I'm coming. Come on, Epona, let's get you saddled up..."

xXx

"_Was it truly necessary to kill them all?"_

"_Elis, I have said too many times already that I do not like you _questioning _me. I know what I am doing. _Understand_?"_

_Elis bowed his head. "Yes, my Lord. I understand."_

"_It is simple. They had to die because they knew of us. They refused to hear us out, and I refuse to let them ruin everything, not when I'm this close... It won't be long now before my full power returns, and then..." He laughed. "Elis, how goes your discussion with the fish king?"  
_

"_King Zora refuses to believe that we tracked the great evil here. He also refuses to speak to me again."_

"_Hmm. No doubt the Evil Knight has already beaten us to him. No matter. Hyrule's time has come. Hyrule created that evil, and now Hyrule can die along with it! Soon! Soon, do you hear me, you monster of a man? I'll find you, and then I'll destroy you!_

"_I will _destroy_ you for what you did to me!"_


	10. Side Chapter 3: The Ride

It hadn't taken them long to saddle the horses and make their final preparations to leave the ranch. Since her horse was already saddled and ready, Zelda had nothing to do except help the others. That was how she noticed it.

Link was tense, his every movement betraying the nervousness he had to be feeling. She'd seen some of that tension on the way to the ranch, but now it was even stronger. Was he that worried about them?

He didn't need to; she and Malon were more than capable of handling themselves in a fight. He didn't have to protect them anymore.

Or was he worried about Hyrule? It wasn't as if the land was about to collapse. No, the three of them were more than capable of handling whatever the threat at the lake could possibly be.

Right?

**Fade to Black  
****Side Chapter Three: The Ride**

The trio had barely left the walls of Lon Lon Ranch before Malon spoke up. "So, Link, why _did_ Epona come back by herself four years ago?"

Link groaned and slumped back in his saddle. "As I said, that's a long story."

"And we've got a long ride ahead of us, don't we? From what Zellie was hinting at earlier, this is something _important_. Therefore, I need to know, and we've got nothing but time at the moment, _so_ tell me."

"_Zelda_!" Link snapped, suddenly straight as a board in the saddle, his entire body tense. "You did _what_? Weren't you listening when I said I didn't want half of Hyrule knowing about this?"

Zelda turned in her saddle to look at Link. "I do believe that Malon is not "half of Hyrule," and besides, if she is going to fight beside us, she needs to know who to and not to attack."

"Oh, so what?" Malon replied. "Zellie can know and I can't?"

Zelda couldn't keep the tiny grin off her face after that.

Link turned an interesting shade of red. "That's _not_ what I meant! It's just..." He tipped his head back and looked up at the sky. "No. I'm not explaining it again. Zelda, you're the one who hinted at it, so you tell her what I told you."

In some ways, Zelda wanted to protest, but Link did have a point. She had one, too, though; if something happened and Link split, Malon needed to know that Time and Shadow weren't enemies. And it would be much easier to tell Malon ahead of time so she knew what to expect.

"Very well, then I shall."

Link rode ahead, although whether he was acting as a scout or merely getting far enough that he couldn't hear Zelda couldn't say. She noted that he stayed close enough that she and Malon could yell and get his attention, and then she started telling the story as best as she could.

Malon listened quietly with a look of horror that seemed to get more noticeable as Zelda went on.

"That is what he told me," Zelda finally said.

"That... That sounds horrible! He isn't hurting, is he?"

Zelda shrugged. "He says he isn't, but I don't know if I can believe that. He doesn't seem to be in any pain..."

"Then again, if he's been through all that, he might be used to it," Malon said, softly. "Let me get this straight. Link can... split into two people, both of whom are Link, only not."

"They're parts of his personality, it seems. I don't know much more than you do, since Link doesn't really like talking about it."

Malon smiled weakly. "Is that why he took off ahead of us? Where'd he go, anyway?" She stood up in the stirrups. "I don't see him anywhere. Ooh, he must have taken off after we started talking! Just wait 'til I get my hands on him!"

"He can't be far. I can't see him leaving us on our own as much as he worries about us. There's a wall; let's climb up on it for a better look around," Zelda said, pointing. Link wouldn't have just abandoned them. He must've gone over a hill or behind a wall or had gone just out of sight behind something else.

Zelda climbed onto the narrow top of the wall and managed to balance atop it. Looking around, she couldn't see any sign of Link or Epona. "I don't see him!"

"_What_?" Malon climbed up beside her. "Fairy Boy, you'd better not have left us behind!"

"He doesn't like it when you call him that," a soft voice said from below them.

Malon gasped and knelt down to keep her balance. Zelda jumped and almost fell off.

And the voice just laughed. "You... you should've seen the looks on your faces!"

Zelda climbed off the wall. That sounded like Shadow, but what was he doing here by himself?

"Hey, you're one of the guys Zellie was telling me about, aren't you?" Malon said from her perch on the wall. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Zelda walked around the wall as Shadow shrugged. "It's a little bit of yes and no," he said, smirking. "I was just walking back to meet up with you two and decided to take a little nap here in the shade. Then you two rode up and climbed up there, so I said hi."

"You didn't say "hi." You just started talking!" Malon said, thrusting a finger accusingly in his direction.

Shadow just shrugged again. "Details, details."

Malon scowled and jumped off the wall. "I'll bring the horses around. Because if I stay, I'll smack him."

"Shadow, where are Time and Epona?" Zelda asked.

"Time said something about wanting to check out the gates. I came back so you two wouldn't think we'd forgotten about you. Anyway, he wants us to continue on towards the lake -- nice trick, that, with three people and two horses -- while he does whatever he's got in mind and then meets back up with us around sunset." Shadow looked up at the last afternoon sky. "Which means we'd better get moving, or we'll never make it in time."

Zelda just looked at him. "We're supposed to get as close as we can to the gates by sunset. We could make it if we ride fast, but one of the horses is going to be carrying two riders. Unless you plan on walking, that is."

"Well, I say he can walk," Malon snapped from the other side of the wall. "He just had to make us jump, so we just have to make him walk."

"_What_?" Shadow yelped. Then he cleared his throat and stood up, apparently trying to regain his composure. "I mean, we need to stick together --"

"Which is why Fairy Boy went ahead of us," Malon said flatly, walking around the wall with the horses.

"All right, fine," Shadow spat out, scowling. "Don't believe me. You won't be the first. Go on, ride ahead of me. See if I care." He whirled around and stalked off in the direction of the lake.

Zelda sighed. This was off to a wonderful start.

"Zellie, is he always that moody?"

"Not always." Zelda took her horse's reins. "Just a lot. Shadow, wait!"

He stopped, hip cocked and arms crossed. "Shouldn't we be moving, ladies? Or are we going to stand out here all night?" His voice was more amused than annoyed at the moment, and Zelda wondered what had made him change his mind so fast.

Malon shook her head slowly. "We're faster when we're all riding. I suppose I could carry your gear, Zellie, and then he can ride with you until we meet back up with Link."

Zelda sighed. "Very well."

xXx

In the end, that hadn't worked at all. No matter how much Malon and Zelda had tried to keep the horses calm, neither of them would let Shadow get close enough to touch them, let alone try to mount. After several tries, the trio had decided that they'd wasted enough time and to just travel on foot, with the ladies leading the horses and Shadow walking ahead as a scout.

Their first good view of the gates came just after sunset, the gates barely visible.

"Where are we supposed to camp?" Zelda asked, staring in the direction of the gates. "If things at the lake are as horrible as the evidence claims, it would be best if we weren't in plain sight. I'm not entirely certain we can even risk a fire..."

"Time's supposed to find us a place to stay," Shadow replied, climbing atop a nearby fence and scanning the field ahead of them. "That is, if he hasn't gotten himself caught."

Malon cleared her throat. "Zellie, someone's coming." She pointed to a large figure coming towards them from their left.

Zelda turned to look. A dark horse with a light mane and a strange winged thing on its back. "Is that Epona?"

"It looks like her," Malon said, "but I can't tell for certain."

Shadow jumped off the fence. "You two stay here; I'll go investigate."

Zelda watched him walk towards the figure on horseback. "I hope he knows what he's doing."

Malon climbed onto her horse. "Just in case, Zellie, I think we should get ready to run."

Zelda could only hope that it wouldn't come down to that, but she mounted her horse and then readied a pair of throwing daggers. There was only one Epona, and she doubted an enemy could handle the horse well enough to ride. Still, she couldn't help but be cautious. There was clearly something not right around this lake, and that something might just be riding Epona towards them.

She glanced around the field to ensure nothing else was trying to sneak up on them. This time, she hoped, she was just being overly cautious...

"Malon! Zel! Get over here!" Shadow's voice shattered the stillness.

Zelda quickly urged her horse towards the figures in the distance. As she approached, she realized why the figure had seemed so strange; the rider was slumped forward, clinging to Epona's neck, his long cloak flowing behind him as Epona ran. The rider was Time, and his clothing was torn and bloody.

"What happened to him?" she demanded.

"Control Epona so I can get him off!" Shadow snapped, clearly torn between wanting to get Time off Epona and not wanting to spook her.

Malon tied her horse to a nearby tree and then gently approached Epona, singing her song in a shaky voice.

At the first chance she had, Zelda ran over and helped Shadow ease Time's battered body out of the saddle. Time had several deep gashes down one arm, and half of an arrow stuck out of his shoulder.

She managed to lay him on the ground and open his cloak so she could better see his injuries. Something, a beast perhaps, had attacked him; he was covered in deep gashes, and was that wound on his right forearm shaped like a bite, or were her eyes playing tricks on her?

"Who did this to you?" Shadow demanded. "Who _did_ this?"

"Shadow, stop it!" Zelda snapped, running to her horse and digging through the saddlebags for one of the vials of potion she knew was in there. "We need to tend to those wounds!"

"Tell me! Who did this? Where is he?" Shadow yelled, his fists clenching what was left of Time's shirt.

Time's only response was a weak groan of pain.

"You're not helping him!" Malon yelled, grabbing Shadow by the shoulders and pulling him off of his other half. "Stay back if you aren't going to help bandage him."

Shadow growled and stepped back, standing up and staring in the direction of the lake.

Zelda ignored him; there were more pressing matters than Shadow's temper. Her fingers brushed glass, and she pulled a bottle of red potion out of the saddlebag. By the time she got back to Time's side, Malon had already started dressing the worse of the lighter half's wounds.

Behind them, Shadow muttered something they couldn't make out and walked away.

Malon and Zelda spent the next while tending to Time's wounds, pausing only to light a lantern. Zelda wasn't certain she wanted to risk the light, but they didn't have a choice; they couldn't very well tend to those wounds if they couldn't see.

Finally, Time seemed to be resting somewhat peacefully, and Zelda had a chance to look around. Shadow wasn't there. She stood up and picked up the lantern, holding it as high as she could. He wasn't there. Where did he go...?

"Shadow? Shadow, where are you?"

Her only answer was the wind.

"Shadow, tell me where you are, _right now_!"

"Din, Nayru, and Farore," Malon swore, standing up. "I don't believe this. He's been nothing but trouble ever since we first _saw_ him!"

Zelda turned to look in the direction of the lake, seeing the gates more in her mind than with her eyes. "He's gone to the lake."

"By himself, and he's left us to tend to his brother!"

Time groaned behind them. "What...?" His eyes widened quickly as he tried to jump to his feet, but he fell back to the ground clutching his side.

"Sit down and rest before you tear something open," Malon said with a sigh. "Your brother has apparently gone off to avenge you."

"That's not funny, Malon..." Time said weakly, wincing as he carefully stood up. "Where is he?"

Zelda sighed. "She isn't jesting, Time. Shadow's not here. Our guess is he has gone to the lake."

Time stared out into the distance for a moment, as if lost in thought. Then he swore and stamped angrily at the ground. "Shadow, you damned idiot!" He glanced at both Malon and Zelda. "We have to go after him; maybe we can catch him before..."

"Before what?"

"Before he finds who he's looking for."

xXx

"_He destroyed the Hunter. Are you sure it's wise to have let him ride away like that? He was injured, my Lord; we could have killed him if we'd merely tried."_

_A smirk. "He knows the one I'm hunting. The monster of a man who tore through my land like a cyclone, who destroyed my village and slaughtered my family, is his brother. And now, the beast will come running to me seeking vengeance. And I will slaughter _him_."_

"_That's what _you_ think, you worthless son of a bitch!"_


	11. Chapter 7: Hunter and Hunted

I stared at my other half, lying there covered in blood. There was only one thought running through my mind, over and over and over, getting stronger by the second.

Whoever did this was going to _die_.

"Tell me!" I yelled, grabbing his shirt. "Who did this? Where is he?" _Tell me and I'll hunt him down..._

Time groaned weakly, his eyes opening ever-so-slightly.

"You're not helping him!" Malon yelled, grabbing me by the shoulders and yanking me away. "Stay back if you're not going to help!"

I stepped back and glared at her. I _was_ helping, just in my own way. I shifted my glare down to my other half, thinking loudly. "What happened?"

Time's mental voice was as weak as the rest of him. "Something attacked me... near the gates. It's dead."

"What about that arrow?"

No answer.

"Damn it, Time! Where'd that arrow come from?"

Still no answer. I watched Zelda gently pour a few drops of potion down Time's throat. Fine, he could just be that way. It wasn't like there were many possibilities as to where the bastard who did this could be. If he didn't want to tell me, I'd just go find the guy myself.

"I'm going to the lake. Don't follow me," I muttered, not really sure if they could hear me or not. I didn't care either way. Neither Zelda nor Malon gave any sign that they heard me as I walked towards the gates blocking the lake road.

Someone would pay dearly for this.

**Fade to Black**  
**Chapter Seven: Hunter and Hunted**

I'd found the 'something' Time had mentioned near the gates, a massive wolf-like beast with half of its head missing. Time said he'd killed it, but just to make sure, I picked up a large rock and threw it at the beast. It didn't move or make a sound.

Good. It _was_ dead, then. I walked over for a closer look, trying to find something that might help me figure out what was going on here. The beast was just a beast, though clearly one created by magic. Its claws were bloody and scraps of fabric from Time's undershirt were stuck between its fangs, as well as something else, something white. The uniforms of the Hylian Royal Guard, maybe?

I smiled coldly. At least now I knew what killed them. Time killed the magical beast, so I'd go kill the summoner. Then we'd be even and Hyrule would be safe.

I turned towards the gates and headed for the ladder --

It was gone; all that remained was a charred streak on the stone and a pile of ash. All right, I wasn't getting in that way. And I didn't have a horse to jump the gates, which left me one alternative.

I took a slow, deep breath and dissolved into the shadows, wincing as I passed through the first gate. It didn't hurt as much as that portcullis did, but it still wasn't very comfortable. I turned around and looked back towards where the girls were helping Time, seeing the small flickering light of a distant lantern. Hopefully that light wouldn't attract anything.

And then I passed through the second gate and started down the road to Lake Hylia.

The frozen lake shone in the moonlight. It didn't even look like anything in Hyrule anymore. I shook my head to chase away memories of Snowhead. No time for memories. I forced myself to look away from the lake and back to shore.

In the distance, to the northeast, was a small fire with two figures next to it. I could also see a few other figures standing still in the grass away from the fire. If I listened closely, I just made out the tell-tale moaning of the walking dead. This was just great.

I sighed and slid deeper into the shadows, my view of the world distorting as if I were looking through a piece of smoky glass. With the distortion came the auras, ranging from the pitch black auras of the animated dead to the brilliant white with flecks of varying colors that shrouded the living.

My own aura flickered into view as I glanced down at myself, my arms and torso shimmering with the strange yet familiar pattern of white flecked with crimson, forest green, and a faint hint of gold. I sighed. My aura never was constant, nor was Time's; for some reason, the amount of red and green -- or blue and green, in Time's case -- constantly changed. Usually, one color was stronger than the other, and that was true now: the crimson was bright and pulsing strongly, the green barely visible. There had to be a reason for that.

Not that I had time to think about that now. A laugh brought my attention back to the men by the fire. Both shone brightly with the colors of life. Two men. Every other figure on the shore was dead. I had to get closer, although whether I was just going to eavesdrop or attempt an ambush, I wasn't sure. I sighed and started that way, moving carefully even though I wasn't really corporeal at the moment.

The lake was ice. The wind was cold. The grass was dead. The very air hummed with magical power I wasn't familiar with.

The two men by the fire had to be the ones responsible for all of this -- for the lake, for the attack on Castle Town, for the attack on my other half!

"_Coming in here without a plan is _suicide!" a voice from the past screamed in my head as another memory played itself in my mind. I growled again and stopped. That damned fairy had had a point then, not that I'd been willing to hear it, and she still had it now. I couldn't just run over and get myself killed. Time and I didn't even know what would happen to the other if one of us died. And no matter what, if I died, at least part of Link died.

I grit my teeth and shook my head violently. No! This was _not_ the time to stand here and contemplate my own mortality. I had a job to do. I started towards the men again. I had to learn what I could from them. This wasn't the time to fight. It wasn't.

The dead paid me no heed as I slipped past them and towards the fire. I chuckled to myself as I slipped past a Stalfos, enjoying the feeling of power I got from doing so. It couldn't even tell I was there! It would be so easy to slip back into the physical world just long enough to take its head off...

...no. If I did that, everything on the shore would be after me. I needed every advantage I could get. The temptation was still there, so I forced myself to move away from my would-be target and closer to the fire.

"My Lord," one of the men said as I approached the edge of the circle of firelight. "He lived? I do not think that it was wise to let him live!"

The other laughed. "Are you daring to question me?" For some unknown reason, I felt like I'd seen him before, long, long ago.

"No, my Lord. I am merely saying that he seemed strong. Perhaps we should have killed him before he could cause trouble for us."

"Elis, you fool! He will cause us no trouble. In fact, he will prove to be quite useful... I have told you before of the monster in a man's body, have I not?"

"I have merely been told that he murdered your family and that you hunt him," Elis replied softly.

I moved closer to them, careful not to enter the light. Their clothing was of a style I remembered from the region around Triar. Why would Triarans travel this far east? Few that far away even knew of Hyrule...

The second man laughed bitterly. "There were two of them, both children. They were twins and yet opposites. My family took them in on a stormy night... I went outside to check on the animals, and there I heard screams. I ran back to see one of the two finish taking my father's head off while the other just stared at the room.

"I'd heard one of them say they were from a land called Hyrule. Which is why we are here: to get revenge on the man and the land responsible for the deaths of my family."

"Lord Karnon, if I may, what will you do if he shows up?"

Karnon smirked, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. "I will kill him, of course. Then I will cast his corpse into the lake to join my army."

"And what will you do then, my Lord?" Elis said, his voice sounding... sad? Confused? I couldn't really say for certain. It wasn't anything like the gleeful yet spiteful tone Karnon spoke in.

"I will kill his brother for not stopping him sooner."

What? If he was going to kill Time anyway, why didn't he do it when he had the chance?

Karnon stood up and stared pacing slowly around the fire. "I have no home to go back to... so I suppose I should make a new home for myself. I think that I am worthy of a kingdom. And once I kill that monster, then I shall start making this kingdom my own."

I folded my legs under me and sat down. I'd figured as much. No matter what he _claimed_ was his motive, this Karnon guy had already started reminding me of Ganondorf. And now he wanted Hyrule for his own, did he? I scowled. An army in the lake? I thought there was evil in the lake.

Or maybe the evil was his army. Meh, not that it mattered. I'd handle his army for him.

"My Lord," Elis said, shaking his head, "Hyrule has a ruler. What of her?"

"What of her?" Karnon replied, sounding more like he was talking about a bug than a person. "She will give us no trouble."

My scowl deepened. What did that _bastard_ plan to do to Zelda?

"You saw how they fell, Elis!" Karnon said with a triumphant laugh. "Even the supposed 'royal guard' can't withstand my power. Who is there to try and stop me?"

I drew one of my blades. I was here, cocky son of a bitch. I'd stop you.

"I'll simply go to the castle and give the Princess her options."

Elis shook his head. "It doesn't seem to be so easy, my Lord. What if she resists? Could you fight an army?"

"I have an army of my own. If the soldiers resist, I will set my army upon them. And if the Princess resists, I will kill her and take her throne. It is that simple."

_What_? I drew my other blade and jumped to my feet. It took every bit of self-control I had to not leap out of the shadows at him. I couldn't break my cover. I was outnumbered. My hands were shaking; my chest was tightening. No, I _wasn't_ going to get into a fight I couldn't win. I _wasn't_!

"Now, if you are done with your asinine questioning, Elis, we have an ambush to prepare."

"Ah, yes, my Lord."

I just stared across the flames at Karnon as he turned to survey the moonlit shore. He'd just threatened to take over Hyrule, and to end Zelda's life, and just like that he'd changed the subject? I grit my teeth and closed my eyes. My entire body shook. My heart pounded in my ears. The tight feeling in my chest shifted, becoming a violent churning.

And I knew I was going to kill him or die trying.

xXx

My vision flashed red for a heartbeat. I sat up rigid in Epona's saddle. _Shadow... no, something's not right; it's never been this strong before..._

"Time?" I heard Zelda ask. She and Malon were already searching for anything threatening.

I closed my eyes and tried to keep my voice even. "It's not our problem yet." With any luck, it wouldn't be ours later, either.

"What do you mean?" Zelda turned to me, looking worried. Maybe I hadn't kept as much of my concern out of my voice as I had thought. "Is something wrong?"

I shifted in the saddle, feeling my scabbard and shield rub against my back. "We're riding into a battle. Shadow snapped."

"You mean..." Fear flickered across Zelda's eyes for a brief instant, quickly replaced with purpose. "We have to help him."

"Wait! What do you mean Shadow snapped?" Malon demanded. "You know what he's doing?"

"I don't know every move he makes, but I can sense when this happens. He's snapped. He's been pushed past his breaking point and is currently attacking _something_ at the lake in a near-blind rage." I shook my head.

"We have to help him," Zelda repeated. "We're in this together, remember?"

Were we? With a sigh, I nodded. "Just be ready. We don't know who or what he's fighting."

I urged Epona forward, towards the gates, praying to the Goddesses that we could make it in time.

xXx

"That's what you think, you worthless son of a bitch!"

How was _this_ for an ambush, you worthless sack of shit? I thought as I rushed him from behind, leaping over the fire and bursting out of the shadows with blades drawn.

Karnon tensed as my blade slid effortlessly into his side.

"Don't even _think_ you can have Hyrule..." I purred into his ear.

"_You_!" Karnon hissed, drawing his sword.

I flipped backwards, yanking my blade free while in motion, and landed on the other side of the fire. I stared thrown the flames at Karnon, daring him with my eyes to try something. Anything.

He met my gaze for the briefest instant. "_Rise_!"

A spell fired off. He was a mage? _Shit_. I tumbled to the side as bony hands burst from the ground where I had been standing. Not just any mage, either; a necromancer.

I hit the ground hard, rolling up to my feet and lashing out to the sides with my blades. Resistance to my left -- I whirled that way and blocked a slash aimed at my head. I kicked out at the Stalfos in front of me, smirking as I heard bone break.

Somewhere behind me, I heard chanting.

Two more Stalfos met their second death when I jumped up and used their skulls as footholds to launch myself back towards Karnon. Whatever spell he was trying to cast failed miserably thanks to a boot upside the head. He staggered back; I caught myself with my hands and vaulted back to my feet.

I didn't give him time to recover, instead slashing for his throat. The strike was blocked by a long, narrow blade.

"My Lord, allow me to handle this distraction." Elis stood between us, his face neutral.

Karnon just laughed. I tried to dodge around the swordsman, but he moved with me, blocking my path to the mage.

Karnon started chanting again. Behind me, I heard at least two more Stalfos moving my way.

"I'm going to give you one chance, boy," I spat at Elis, crossing my blades over my chest and focusing my magic in them. "Drop your sword and I might just let you live to see the sunrise."

"On the contrary, _you_ are the one who may not see the sunrise," Elis replied, raising his sword. "Surrender."

"Oh? What, so you can take my head off? I think not." I smirked, releasing the energy I'd stored up. "_Whirling Blade_!" Just like Link's beloved spin attack, only with twice the steel.

Elis let out a grunt of pain and staggered backwards, clutching at the bloody line in his stomach. The Stalfos coming up behind weren't so lucky; they shattered in a cloud of dust and bits of bone. I laughed and licked some of the swordsman's blood off my weapons.

"Monster of a man..." Elis said softly. I might have called his tone wistful if I was in a position to care. "I see why my Lord wants you dead now." He held his sword out towards me as a challenge.

His Lord? _Shit, Karnon_! I had forgotten about him!

I rushed Elis, knocking his blade to the side and slamming my knee into his face. He hit the ground hard; I hit it running. Why had I been so _stupid_? I _knew_ this was a distraction, but I let it work anyway!

And work it had. I pulled my blades back and prepared to strike as soon as I got close enough...

...as Karnon finished his incantation with a triumphant smile and thrust his hand towards me, palm out and fingers spread.

The magic hit like a wall, knocking me into the air and sending my blades spinning into the darkness. I barely had time to yell as the world spun around me... and then I hit the frozen lake hard.

xXx

I winced at the sudden sharp pain in my chest. This wasn't good at all. Shadow was... I couldn't sense him anymore. I hoped that he'd been knocked out or had collapsed on his own, but the chance was there that he...

No, he had to be alive. Shadow wasn't the type to die easily.

"Something wrong?" Malon called from nearby.

I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the sudden hollow feeling deep in my gut, tightening my legs against Epona's sides to steady myself in the saddle. "I'm... I'm fine. _Now_ it's our fight. Ride!"

I could only hope we wouldn't be too late.

xXx

The eastern sky was starting to glow when I woke up. How long had I been out? I groaned and tried to stand up --

I couldn't. I was stuck up to my waist in the ice! Oddly enough, I didn't _feel_ cold; shouldn't it hurt to be half-buried in ice? My legs still felt perfectly normal. I just couldn't move them. Or get out.

And my blades were nowhere to be found. Shit. They probably landed back on the shore, far enough that they wouldn't do me any good.

Judging by the slight vibration the ice had, it was probably magical. What was I saying? Of _course_ it was magical. There was a damned good chance that my blades wouldn't do me any good even if I _did_ have them.

I glanced down at the ice. I immediately wished I hadn't.

Buried beneath the frosty surface lay dozens of people. Some were wide-eyed, their hands curled and their fingers bloody. Others were curled up in balls as if trying to stay warm. Still others were frozen in mid-strike with various weapons, none of which seemed to do them any good. The closest one to me was a Royal Guardsman; his uniform was tattered and bloody, his shield cracked, his sword broken. The worst was his eyes, wide yet dead, staring up at me from a face twisted in desperation and fear.

I shuddered and forced myself to look up, to look out, to look _anywhere_ other than at the bodies frozen below and around me. Now that I actually took the time to look, the lake wasn't perfectly smooth... there was an arm, and there a sword, and over there was a head...

My chest ached. The magic? Or something else?

I stared up at the twilit sky and forced myself to breathe. All around me were dead people. How long did I have before I was one of them?

A sharp pain in my chest, like a dagger between my ribs... I leaned forward and clutched at the ice. What... was this...?

_Destroy_. A voice that wasn't mine echoed in my head.

"Destroy what?" I forced myself to say, my strained and weak voice breaking the stillness.

_Destroy your enemies_.

"I'm _stuck_ in a Goddesses-damned _lake_!" I snapped, now more annoyed than anything. "How am I supposed to destroy anything?"

_Destroy my enemies_.

I growled. This was just great. I had no way to get out of the ice, no weapons, and no help except for a voice in my head telling things that I just _couldn't _do. "Goddesses, if You hate me _that _much, just kill me and get it over with!"

"I can arrange that, boy."

I snapped my head around. Karnon! The bastard walked slowly across the ice towards me, stopping just out of my reach. He smirked.

"Then why don't you?" I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

He laughed. "You're cocky enough for one half absorbed, aren't you?"

I smirked at him. "You haven't seen cocky, you bastard. What are you trying to pull anyway?"

"Revenge, boy. I'm here to kill you because you killed my family." He tapped the base of his staff against the ice as he talked, the metal-shod base chiming with each strike.

"Uh-huh. Because I'm an evil monster and your family was innocent."

"You dare speak of the dead in such a way?"

I glared. "Look, if your precious family hadn't attempted to _steal_ from me, I never would've been forced to defend myself!"

Karnon flicked his staff up and smacked my cheek with the end. I just stared at him, not even bothering to dodge. It didn't hurt much.

"That the best you can do?" I said coldly.

He glared back. "I know what you are, beast. You've attached yourself to that boy you call your brother... haven't you? How long have you been draining him?"

I laughed. I didn't know why; something deep inside me found that hilarious. Even my laughter sounded different, like it was someone else's voice mixed in with my own.

Karnon stepped back, concern flashing across his face. "What?"

"You don't even get it," the something-in-me said with my voice. "You're too blinded by your pathetic concept of reality to even attempt to see what lies beyond." The ache in my chest was worse now.

"And now you wax poetic?" He chuckled, though his voice wasn't amused. "You don't even seem to understand what's happening to you."

"I don't believe I care. Your magic will be your undoing." And just as suddenly as it had come, the voice in my head faded away and the ache in my chest eased somewhat.

Well, wasn't that wonderful? Whatever that had been showed up just long enough to piss off the person who had me half-stuck in a frozen lake half full of corpses. I closed my eyes and sighed inwardly. I didn't find that the least bit helpful!

Karnon found it amusing. "I don't think you understand, fool. You're going to die, and then your corpse is going to help me conquer this kingdom."

At least one of us found the situation amusing. He was just lucky that I wasn't in any position to attack him, or I'd rip his throat apart with my teeth.

"All right then," I said, waving one hand in the air to indicate the lake around us. "If you're so determined to kill me, why aren't I an icy corpse? I don't really see why you're wasting so much time trying to talk me to death when I don't care what you say one way or the other."

"Very well. If you want to die so badly, I shall allow it!" Karnon raised his staff and started chanting yet another of his damned spells. A faint rumble came from the shore.

I grit my teeth, trying to figure out how I was getting out of this one...

...that rumbling wasn't magic; it was hoofbeats! Someone screamed a battlecry. Karnon lost his focus and turned towards the sound.

Once he moved I could see three figures on horseback riding towards the shore, weapons raised. Malon, Zelda, and Time. Thank the Goddesses.

"What's the matter, Mage Boy?" I said with a sneer, now much more confident in living through this. "I thought you were going to kill me!"

"I will, boy. I will. But first, I shall make you watch those fools you seem to call allies meet their demise. Know this. You've all underestimated me."

The something in my head was back then, saying simply, "_You_ underestimate _me_. That will be your final mistake."

Karnon whirled around to face the shore and started walking towards the fight that was already beginning. "We shall see about that!"

And then I was alone again, still trapped in the lake, as the sounds of yells and clanging weapons filled the early morning air.

xXx

"_There's an opening! There, left side!"_

_I tried to swing my blade towards that opening, but it instead swung back towards the mask floating behind me. Odolwa. _

"_No!" I yelled, forcing the blade out of its trajectory by sheer willpower, missing Odolwa by little more than a hair. "Focus on Majora!"_

"Kill them all! They're all working together!" _that angry voice growled in my head._

"_No! They helped me. Leave them alone!" I felt a single tear run down my left cheek and wiped it away, turning my attention back towards Majora -- _

_-- except _it _didn't, turning my body towards Odolwa again. _

"Stop resisting me!" _the voice boomed. "_Sleep and let me fight!"


	12. Chapter 8: Lake of Sleeping Evil

_Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Hopefully this chapter helps answer some questions. If it doesn't, well, the story's not quite over yet._

* * *

The eastern sky had just begun to glow as we reached the gates. The dim light helped somewhat, but it still took several tries before all three horses were able to jump the gates.

The ride down the lake road seemed to take forever, even though I knew from experience it only took three minutes. I didn't like this one bit, and the strange hollow feeling in my chest wasn't helping me any.

I would vastly prefer knowing what kind of situation I was about to charge into; just because I'd charged in blindly in the past didn't mean I enjoyed doing it that way. Shadow had best have a good explanation for running off like he did!

And then the road ended, and the lake stretched out before us, the ice glittering in the dim light. Out on the lake, I saw two figures, one standing, one kneeling.

"Stalfos!" Zelda yelled. I snapped my view back to the shore and the small army's worth of Stalfos all turning towards us and raising their weapons.

I drew my sword. "Charge!"

**Fade to Black**  
**Chapter Eight: Lake of Sleeping Evil**

It didn't take long to take out the first wave of Stalfos. I quickly dismounted once the opportunity presented itself. There were more Stalfos out there, all along the shore. If they all attacked at once...

"What are they waiting for?" Malon hissed, using her halberd as a staff to lean against.

"An order, most likely," I replied softly, trying to find a non-skeletal figure. "Their leader has to be here somewhere."

Zelda coiled her chain-whip around her arm. "Then we wait for him to show himself."

I nodded. I had to admit, Zelda and Malon knew what they were doing. It was rather odd to fight alongside someone else, especially those two. I'd never wanted either of them to have to fight; I was supposed to be protecting them... wasn't I?

But I hadn't been; I'd been away for eight years. I hadn't been here to protect them. I grit my teeth and forced that thought out of my mind. If I let myself get distracted, I'd die!

One of the figures out on the lake was starting to slowly walk towards us. It didn't look like a skeleton -- their leader, perhaps?

There was a small fire burning further down the shore. I started towards it, noting a person sitting on the ground near it.

"There's so much magic here," I heard Zelda whisper behind me.

Malon swallowed hard. "It's so horrible..." Apparently she'd calmed down enough to notice the lake.

I flinched. "That is why we're here. We're here to end that."

The man sitting by the fire was already hurt. His nose looked broken, and he had one arm wrapped around a bloody line in his tunic. I took in his appearance, trying to determine if I'd ever met him before.

He looked about my height, with dark hair and eyes. I didn't know him.

He lifted a narrow-bladed sword in my direction. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Are you the one who threatens Hyrule?" Zelda asked, standing next to me.

He stared at me. "You... you're his brother..."

Damn it, Shadow, I thought. "And who are you?"

He didn't answer.

Zelda cleared her throat and crossed her arms, the firelight gleaming off of her chain-whip. "Are you the one who threatens Hyrule?"

"I am not," he replied flatly, looking down at the fire.

"Then who is?" she snapped.

"My master." He shifted position, folding his legs under him. I narrowed my eyes; what was he doing?

"Elis, what are you doing?" a man yelled from the edge of the lake. "Must I do everything myself?"

I turned around and saw a man in a dark robe holding a metal-clad staff. I _knew_ him --

"What are you two doing wandering by yourselves? Are you lost?"

"We're just looking for shelter before the storm hits," I replied, before Shadow had a chance to be rude.

The man driving the wagon smiled slightly. "Well, you can stay with us tonight; it wouldn't do to let a couple of children wander in the rain."

Shadow muttered under his breath, "We're not as young as you think, old man." I elbowed his side and gave him a quick glare before climbing onto the wagon. He muttered something I couldn't make out and followed.

A young man not much older than us smiled as the wagon began to move. He looked like the son of the driver. "Where are you two from?"

"Hyrule," I replied, deciding that as far away as we were, it was safe to mention. Besides, we weren't that far from Termina, and I didn't want anyone offering to take us back.

He scowled. "Never heard of that place."

"It's a long way from here."

He stared up at the sky for a moment. "Are you two sure you should be wandering alone like this? You don't really look like you could handle yourselves in a fight."

I held out an arm to keep Shadow from lunging at the young man. "We can handle ourselves."

"Now, now, Karnon," the driver said. "There's no need to be so blunt --"

"_Karnon_," I growled, staring at the robed man and forcing the memory away. "Why are you here?"

Zelda uncoiled her chain-whip. "You know him?"

Movement behind me. I spun around, shoving Zelda to the side and jerking my shield up just in time to block a swing.

Elis growled somewhere on the other side of my shield. I shoved out with it, pushing him away from me. He staggered back and readied his sword.

"Sorry, Zel," I said softly, glancing over to make sure she was all right. She nodded at me and turned her attention back towards Karnon.

"What business do you have here in Hyrule?" she demanded.

Karnon said something, but I didn't hear him. Elis lunged at me and I moved to counter, our blades clashing loudly. I could only trust that Zelda and Malon could handle themselves.

Elis jumped back and stared at me. "Surrender, and you might live through this."

"Somehow I doubt that," I replied flatly, staring back. "Drop your sword."

He smirked. "That's exactly what your brother said."

I smirked back. Knowing Shadow, he'd added a threat. "Then I suppose there's no point in asking, is there?" And I lunged.

He was ready for me, bringing his blade up to deflect mine. Elis kicked at the nearby fire, sending hot coals and sparks flying into my face. I gasped and jumped back, waving the sparks away with my shield arm, but the damage had been done. He'd taken total advantage of my distraction and had managed to slip away.

I whirled away, trying to blink away the little dots of light left in my vision by the sparks. Where was he? I couldn't see; it was as if Navi or Tatl were hovering over my head with her dust falling in my face, only worse.

Elis was too smart to ignore such a chance. He was no doubt preparing to strike...

A clang of metal on metal, followed by the sound of something striking a person and then a body hitting the ground. And then, Malon's voice, low and dangerous. "Don't move."

I finally managed to blink away the worst of the tiny lights. Malon stood just a couple of paces in front of me with Elis sprawled out beneath her. The blade of her halberd hovered just over his throat. His sword lay several yards away.

"Malon...?" I knew she could fight, but... I kept underestimating her.

Malon turned to me and winked. "Don't worry; I've got your back, Link!"

I smiled. That's right; I wasn't in this alone. Malon and Zelda were here, and they could fight.

It wasn't until after I'd nodded at her and then turned my attention towards Zelda and Karnon that I noticed she'd called me Link instead of Time. I decided to ignore it; besides, there were more important things to worry about right now.

Zelda and Karnon stood still along the shore, she on the dead grass and he on the frozen water.

"I order you to state your business!" Zelda said, snapping her whip for emphasis.

Karnon just laughed. "Very well. My business is to slay the monster that killed my family, a monster that this land created."

I narrowed my eyes. "You only say that because you don't know the truth."

Karnon turned to look at me. "I should've known you would come back. Here for the monster you call a brother? You're too late; he'll be a corpse in my army before you see him again!"

I forced myself to not react to that, because I wasn't about to let him see me flinch. "If you're so hungry for revenge for what my brother and I did, then come and claim it! But leave Hyrule out of it."

He sneered and pointed his staff at me, chanting something I didn't understand. Zelda snapped her chain-whip at his staff, and I swung my sword at his head to try to break his concentration. Karnon yelped as Zelda yanked his staff from his hands, ducking my swing at the last possible second.

"You would fight with him?" he said softly. "You would fight alongside one who kills in cold blood?"

"What?" Zelda gasped. "No. Link's not like that." She took his staff and hurled it out across the lake. "And what of you? How many have you killed?"

He stood up and glared at us. "Is there anyone in this world without blood on their hands? I _will_ avenge my family, even if I have to destroy this entire world to do so!"

The grass behind me crunched under someone's foot. I started to turn around...

xXx

Even if Shadow seemed thrilled to be out of the rain, I wasn't so sure we needed to stay with these people. It was enough of a miracle that they hadn't noticed our lack of shadows up to this moment; surely someone would notice if we stayed in their house, right?

But somehow they didn't notice. How they didn't I didn't understand. Maybe it was all of the shadows in the dimly lit house, or maybe the lightning had something to do with it. It still didn't seem right... I half-wondered if they noticed and just weren't going to say anything. That could be it; they saw no shadows and thought we were cursed and decided that was why we'd been traveling alone.

I decided to take full advantage of the chance to get a real night's sleep.

I woke up sometime later that night after a loud clap of thunder with the feeling that something wasn't quite right. As soon as I sat up, I knew something was wrong, although I didn't know what.

"Did you hear something, Time?" Shadow whispered, rolling over and sitting up.

I just nodded.

He grabbed our pack and started digging through it. I checked what was near me, sword, shield, wallet; nothing seemed to be missing.

"Do you have the Ocarina?" he whispered, looking over at me. "It's not in here."

"What do you mean, it's not in there?"

"Exactly what I said! Here," he thrust the pack in my direction. "Check for yourself!"

I did just that. The Ocarina _wasn't_ in the pack; it and the cloth I kept it wrapped in had both disappeared. Nothing else seemed to be missing.

"Someone must've taken it while we were sleeping," Shadow whispering, staring in the direction of the stairs to the second floor. "We have to get it back."

A flash of lightning lit up the room and a loud thunderclap boomed. Outside, I heard a flurry of noise. The wind, or something else?

"I'm going to check the animals!" Karnon yelled, running down the stairs and out the door. His father followed him down, stopping in the doorway.

Shadow looked over at me and nodded. I nodded back, nervously, although I didn't like this.

"Excuse me, sir," Shadow said, trying to sound nonchalant -- and failing miserably, or maybe I was just so worried that I noticed it more than the man would. I hoped that was it. "We're missing a piece of our equipment..."

"Did it fall out in the wagon?" the man asked. "We'll look in the morning."

I was just about to protest when we all heard it: a single wavering note coming from upstairs. It was the unmistakable sound of an ocarina.

Shadow and I both ran up the stairs.

"Where did you get that?"

"I found it, Mommy! Isn't it pretty?"

The woman and all three of Karnon's younger brothers turned to look at us. She held the Ocarina of Time in her hand.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but that's ours..." I started to say. I never got to finish. Another flash of lightning lit up the room.

"Monsters!"

"What manner of deviltry is this?"

I held up my hands, trying to not come across as hostile. "Just give us back the Ocarina, and we'll be on our way!"

No good; the entire family was screaming and moving away from us. Shadow stepped towards the mother, presumably to grab the Ocarina and run for it. At least, that was my plan; I figured he had a similar one.

But she pulled away and screamed, and a pitchfork struck him in the shoulder from behind. I turned and jumped; when had the father gotten that pitchfork? He held the now-bloody weapon up and turned towards me. The mother screamed and dropped the Ocarina to the floor.

I managed to duck under the pitchfork as he thrust it at me. _Now or never_! I lunged at the instrument, ignoring the screams around me. A scuffle broke out, and the next thing I knew, I was rolling down the stairs with the Ocarina clutched tightly to my chest.

Shadow followed me, running, bleeding from several stab wounds on his back and side. We grabbed our gear and were almost out the door when something hit my ankle. I tripped, landing hard on the floor. The father had thrown his pitchfork at me; my leg was pinned to the ground.

I panicked, yelling and screaming and trying to get the pitchfork out of the floor enough to slip my leg free. Shadow screamed my name.

The only thing that I could make out through the haze of panic was the sound of a sword being drawn...

xXx

"Time! Time, wake up!"

I groaned and opened my eyes. My head was pounding and the world spun. "What happened...?"

Malon sighed. "Thank the Goddesses... We were beginning to worry that you weren't going to wake up."

I forced myself to sit up, even as the world kept spinning.

"I'm sorry; he managed to get my halberd for a moment there. I tried to stop him, but he knocked you out before I could get to you."

"Him?"

She shook her head. "Elis, I think. The guy with the narrow sword. He's... he's not a problem anymore." Malon looked pale and nervous; had she killed him?

She held a bottle of potion up to my lips. "Here, drink some of this. It should help."

I did so; the pounding eased somewhat, and the spinning almost stopped. "Where's Zelda?"

"Fighting the mage. She and I have been trading off so we could keep an eye on you."

I staggered to my feet. This was my fight; they weren't supposed to be fighting it for me! And Zelda was fighting it for me, taking out Stalfos as best as she could with her daggers and her chain-whip. Karnon was somewhere out of sight, but I could hear him, faintly chanting.

"Are you ready to fight, Malon?"

"What? You still need rest!"

"No time! He's calling the Stalfos, right?"

She looked away. "Yes. Every time we beat them back, he just calls more."

"And you haven't been able to fight him because only one of you was fighting, and the Stalfos kept you busy." I sighed. I was still shaky on my feet, but there wasn't a choice. This would take everything we had. "We're going to have to attack him all at once. Take out whatever Stalfos get in the way, but focus on Karnon. If we can just keep him from summoning more..."

"All right," Malon said, picking up her halberd. "Whenever you say."

I took a deep breath as the world seemed to list to the left; just as soon as it had started, the motion stopped. "Now."

And we charged down the slope towards the Stalfos, reaching them just as one of them sent Zelda flying back several feet. I stopped long enough to help her to her feet -- she wasn't badly injured, thankfully -- before continuing onwards.

Malon yelled a warcry as she slammed her halberd into the wall of bones, taking two of them out entirely and sending three others staggering back. Karnon stood just behind them, staring at the new hole in his defense.

Zelda charged past me and wrapped her chain-whip around Karnon's arm, stopping him just as he tried to run. I ran through the gap Malon had made and slammed my shield into Karnon's face. The mage grunted and fell over, unconscious.

With the mage no longer able to call more of his walking dead, the three of us made short work of the Stalfos that were left. Before long, there was nothing left of the army but a cloud of dust.

"So, what now?" Malon asked, looking down at the mage. "Should we..."

Zelda shook her head. "Because of his actions, many people have died. We should... kill him."

"So, who should...?"

"You two go look for Shadow; I'll do it," I said.

Zelda held up a hand. "Time..."

"This is my fault."

"This is my kingdom. It's my duty to protect it. I shall do it."

"I can't let you --"

"You two aren't forgetting me, are you?" Malon said. "Because Hyrule's my home, too." She looked scared, and her voice sounded it. "We came here together, and we're going to leave here together. So, we can do this together, too. And then we'll all go look for Shadow."

I wanted to protest, but... Malon had a point. I sighed. "All right, if we're going to do this, let's do it before he wakes up."

And so we did, all holding onto my sword as we thrust it into his chest. With that, Karnon was dead, and Hyrule was safe again.

I wiped the blood from my sword and slid it back into its sheath. Was it over now? I nodded towards the rising sun. The lake would melt on its own, I thought. After standing there for a moment, I realized that I could faintly hear something that sounded like a person yelling.

"Hey! Get me out of here!"

That sounded like Shadow! I looked out across the lake and saw something waving its arms in the air.

"Get over here!"

"I'm coming!" I called, stepping carefully out onto the ice. The ground started to shake. Malon screamed. I glanced over my shoulder and saw bony arms bursting up from the ground around both of the girls. What was this?

The ice shook, and then something grabbed my leg. A Stalfos! I kicked the arm away and scrambled back onto the shore, drawing my blade and hacking at the arms reaching for Malon and Zelda.

No good -- for every one I sent to its second death, three more climbed out of the ground and the ice. What was going on here? The ground shook harder, and I dropped to one knee. We were surrounded now. I kept swinging my blade, taking the Stalfos down one at a time, but I wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. And then we'd all be overpowered.

This must've been some kind of spell Karnon put on the lake, some kind of fail-safe maybe. He was dead, but he was going to take us out with him.

No, damn it; I'd lived through much worse than this! I was not about to die under a mountain of walking corpses!

The ring of Stalfos kept getting smaller and tighter around the three of us. A Stalfos lunged at me; I raised my shield to block, but the Stalfos landed on it and stayed there. The weight pushed my shield arm down against my chest. Another one jumped atop the first, adding more weight.

I couldn't breathe with all this weight on me!

Somewhere very near and yet so very faraway, I heard Zelda scream over the endless clanking of bone as the Stalfos came ever closer. I shoved out with my shield, but it was no good. There were too many of them...

I felt my sword slide out of my weakening grip as the world started to fade away...

xXx

_I hit the wall hard; I heard my sword skitter away out of reach._

_Majora was still laughing, spinning in the center of the room like some giant, nightmarish top. _

_I forced myself to my feet. Or maybe the voice in my head did. It didn't matter. Where was my sword?_

"_Link! Are you all right?"_

"_Tatl? You aren't hurt, are you?"_

_She flies up to me and lands on my shoulder. "I'm fine, but you! Why didn't you dodge that? Didn't you hear me warn you?"_

"_Sorry. I was busy." I wasn't going to talk about this now. I retrieved my sword and turned back to Majora._

"_I'm winning!" Majora called, waving at me. Was it _mocking_ me? "You're no good at this game, are you?"_

"I'm better at this than you ever dreamed you were!" _the voice in my head yelled through me. Tatl shrank away from my face at the sound. I charged._

"_No, Link! Right side! Right side!"_

_I turned, only to see the bolt of energy right before it slammed into me._

_And Majora kept laughing._


	13. Side Chapter 4: Moonfall

Time passes. One day, two days, three. Turn back the clock. Everyone forgets.

Not that they ever know. Too lost in their own worries and issues to really care, they live those days with barely a thought of the end of the world hanging over their heads.

Three days. Seventy-two hours. The Clock Tower counts down the seconds until the world ends.

The clocks are the worst part. He knows the world is going to end; he knows he's the only one who can stop it. But even being able to step back in time is small relief to him.

Because no matter how many times he lives those three days, the constant ticking of the clocks never stops, until he can hear it even when he travels miles and miles from Clock Town. It's always there, never changing, just the steady _tick, tick, tick_ of the countdown to doomsday.

It's worse than the moon, the ticking; at least he can avoid looking at the sky, but he can't escape the ticking...

**Fade to Black**  
**Side Chapter Four: Moonfall**

"Let's go back! Let's go back! The Song of Time! The Song of Time!"

I stared up at the moon above us, Majora's inhuman cackle still ringing in my ears. Go back? How was I supposed to go back after seeing this? No, going back only meant that I'd have to live through this all over again. I was tired, tired of seeing that hideous moon dominating the sky, tired of having the end of the world hanging over my every thought, tired of fighting. I wanted to go home. And I couldn't do that until I stopped that mask.

No, I wasn't going back. I'd had enough of turning back the clock. I'd spent what seemed like months living the same three days over and over again. Nothing changed. Every time I turned the clock back, everyone forgot the horror of those three days... everyone but me.

No more. Majora was going to _pay_ for this.

"Aw, man..." Tatl whined behind me. "Don't tell me you're going up there..."

"Do you want to live the rest of your life running, Tatl?" I asked softly. "I don't."

She made a soft, strangled noise, and then she flew up next to me. "All right, I'll go with you!"

I nodded, more for my sake that Tatl's, and then I ran towards the strange spiral of energy before us --

A plain. A grassy plain as far as I could see in all directions, with a clear blue sky above it. There was a large tree nearby, the only thing that broke the infinite.

"Wh... where is this?" Tatl asked.

I heard several voices laughing from in the direction of the tree and turned that way. There were several people running back and forth around the tree as if playing some kind of game. I started jogging towards the tree, ignoring Tatl's squawk of protest. This... couldn't be right, could it? I was supposed to be inside the moon, yet in here, it was almost peaceful.

There were four kids running around the tree, playing what looked like tag. A fifth kid sat next to the trunk. They were all wearing masks. Not just any masks, either. The monsters in the temples had returned in the form of kids wearing masks! And the fifth kid, over by himself, was wearing Majora's Mask!

"Hey! Do you want to play with us?"

"Huh?" I turned away from the kid wearing Majora's Mask and found that I'd been surrounded by the other four. "What?"

"Play with us!"

"Uh..." I stammered, confused. Shouldn't I have been fighting? Or maybe this _was_ a fight...

The fifth kid -- Majora -- stood up and walked towards me. "You'll play with us... won't you?"

Maybe I had to do this to defeat him... I took a deep breath and then nodded.

"_What_?" Tatl shrieked. "This has to be a trick!"

"All right," Majora said, sounding amused. "We'll play tag. You're 'it.' You're the Ogre. Come and get me, Ogre!" With that, he turned and ran into the tree trunk.

"Yay! Tag!" three of the others yelled before running into the tree after Majora.

The one wearing the Odolwa mask stayed behind, hands behind his back. "If you're the Ogre..." he said, softly, sounding amused and slightly apologetic as he pushed a mask into my hands, "then here. The Ogre has to wear the Ogre's mask. See you inside!" And then he, too, disappeared into the tree trunk, leaving Tatl and me alone.

I looked down at the mask, holding it up for a better look. The image on the mask was a mostly normal, vaguely Hylian-looking face, with warpaint and white hair. There was something about the mask that unsettled me; it seemed to hum in my hand, much like my transformation masks... the ones with parts of souls sealed into them... only _more_. I wasn't even sure what the image on the mask was supposed to _be_, let alone if I wanted to turn into it!

"That's a really creepy mask," Tatl said, landing on my shoulder. "Don't put it on."

"_The Ogre has to wear the Ogre's mask_."

Was Majora saying that I had to wear this to fight him? I didn't have to... did I? Then again...

Odolwa's voice called from just inside the tree, "C'mon, Ogre! Come get us!"

...the other three masks that changed me... gave me powers I didn't have in my real form. If this mask could change me, then it, too, should grant me new abilities. Right?

But that didn't make any sense! If this could help me destroy Majora, why would he _give _it to me? Unless the mask did something else, too. The other masks had parts of souls in them, but not the whole thing. Maybe this one had more than just part of a soul in it...?

Except Majora didn't give me the mask. Odolwa did. Did Majora even know I had it? Maybe it could help me.

Tatl flew up and smacked the tip of my nose. "Link, are you going to do something? Move!"

"And what do you think I should do?" I snapped. "I don't think I can handle him."

"Then why did you run in here? You're hopeless!"

"It's better than running away!"

"Coming in here without a plan is _suicide_! Why did I even follow you up here?"

I grit my teeth. "Because I've done this before, remember?" And then I ran for the tree trunk, not the least bit surprised when I passed right through it.

Inside the tree was a massive circular room. At least, the part I could see suggested a circle. The walls had patches of glowing moss that dimly lit the area around them.

I stopped and looked around, seeing no sign of Majora anywhere. But I could hear him, that hideous screeching cackle booming through the air and echoing off the walls.

"Come out and face me, Majora!" I yelled, drawing my sword. I had to make my stand here. After all of this, I'd rather die than live through another cycle, than to be forgotten again!

"You're supposed to find me," Majora said from somewhere off to my left. "That's the job of the Ogre."

I charged his voice, only to get a brief glimpse of the mask as it shot away from me. "Stop toying with me and fight, Majora!"

"Hmph. If you don't want to play, just say so."

I heard the crackle of energy too late, but I tried to dodge anyway. It hit me in the side and sent me flying into the wall. For a moment, I just lay there, gasping for breath and trying to ignore the pain in my shoulder. Damn, I was being careless.

"Come on, Ogre... get up..."

I opened my eyes and saw the four masked children standing there. "What do you want...?"

Goht helped me stand. "You're supposed to be chasing us, you know. Haven't you ever played tag before?"

"What? You call that tag?" Tatl shrieked. "That's more like trying to _kill_ him!"

We all stared at each other for a long moment. Majora cackled again somewhere in the distance.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, looking from masked face to masked face. "You and I fought as enemies!"

"In different times and different places," Gyorg said softly, picking the strange mask up from where I'd dropped it and holding it out to me. "This is yours."

"Uh... thanks." I stared down at the strange image. Somehow, I trusted these four now. It didn't make any sense, but... I did anyway. They were trying to help me.

Twinmold laughed behind his mask. "C'mon, Ogre. Put on your mask and come get us."

"It's over, fool!" A blast of magical energy shot towards us from out of the dark. I tried to dodge... but I wasn't struck. I opened my eyes and saw the four masked boys collapse in front of me, dissolving away until only the masks were left.

They'd shielded me...? I stared down at the four smoldering masks and then grit my teeth. Faces flashed in my head, all the people I'd met over my endless three days. I was the only thing standing between them and death. And four people I never _really_ met had just taken a blow for me.

I blinked back tears and tightened my grip on the mask. _I won't waste the chance you've given me._

"_Majora_!" I screamed to the darkness. "You'll pay!" I took a deep breath and held up the mask.

"Link, no! You don't know what that will do to you!"

I ignored her. It didn't matter what happened to me anymore, as long as Majora was sent back to where it belonged! "You'd better run, Majora, 'cause here I come!" I put on the strange mask, wincing at the pain I knew was coming.

The mask tightened against my face, stinging as it forced its magic into me. I threw my head back and screamed. Power coursed through me. It felt like I was growing...

_Destroy._

I could hear my voice getting deeper, my scream of pain shifting into a battle cry. There was weight over my shoulders and around my torso, like armor. I tightened my grip on my sword, although I felt the metal stretching and distorting in my hand. This... what was this...?

Tatl screamed somewhere beside me, her voice tiny and faraway.

_Destroy._

I stopped yelling as the pain left. For what felt like ages, I stood there, my head leaned back and my eyes tightly shut, trying to adjust to the sudden feeling of _power_ I felt. My sword was heavier, though I barely noticed. I still _felt_ like a Hylian...

Slowly, I lowered my head back to a more normal position and opened my eyes. I could see the entire circular room now, as well as strange patterns painted along the floor and walls. Majora the mask floated above the floor on the other side of the circle, glowing a deep yet sickly yellow.

_Destroy all who dare oppose me!_

"Tatl," I snapped, part of me flinching inwardly at how deep and menacing my voice was now. "Does he have a weakness?"

"I don't know... I can't see one..."

I nodded. "Then help me find an opening."

"All right... Er, you're still Link, aren't you?" She sounded terrified. What had I just turned into?

"Of course I am. Who else would I be?" I pointed my sword at Majora, seeing the two twisting blades of my sword for the first time. The Helix Blade I wasn't sure how I knew that, but I did.

I started to tell Tatl that it was time to fight, but I didn't get the chance; my body charged Majora before I had the chance to even open my mouth. What was going on?

Majora screamed as I slashed the mask with my blade, only I didn't do it. I just watched numbly through my own eyes while my body moved on its own. I kept swinging that massive sword at Majora, hitting twice, thrice, four times...

"I thought you wanted my help!" Tatl screeched, flying up next to me.

The numbness disappeared, and I felt myself again. "I do!" I snapped, trying to swing the blade myself... only to miss and nearly send the massive sword flying. I wasn't used to fighting with a sword this large, heavy, or unwieldy!

"_Damn it, brat! Throwing the Helix Blade away will get us _both_ killed! Don't you know how to fight?"_ an angry voice said in my head. What was... going on here?

Majora apparently took advantage of my distraction, because it moved out of my view.

"I know how to fight!" I yelled, narrowing my eyes. "I made it this far, haven't I?"

"Link, are you -- Look out!" Tatl shrieked.

I turned towards her and leaped to the side as a bolt of energy shot past, barely missing me. If I wanted to get out of here alive, I had to focus on the fight!

That weird numb feeling came back, although not as strong as before; it felt almost like someone else was holding the Helix Blade with me, guiding my hands with his own. I swung my blade at Majora, even as I wondered how I was supposed to hit it from across the room.

A ring of energy shot out of the blade and streaked towards the floating mask. Majora was apparently as surprised about that as I was, as it didn't even try to dodge. The impact sent it crashing into the wall with a loud _thwack_ that echoed in the circular room.

"Is it over?" Tatl asked, flying up and landing on my shoulder.

"There's no way it can be that easy," I replied dryly, watching and waiting.

And sure enough, after a moment, the mask floated back up into the air. "You little..." Majora snarled. "Very well, then... Let's _play_."

The air started to hum, and then the masks of the four dungeon monsters lifted up into the air, crackling with energy. I stepped back so I could watch the four masks without letting Majora out of my sight. Damn, the room was a larger circle than I'd thought.

That didn't work for long. Majora started floating rapidly around the room, long tendrils of _something_ stretching out behind it as it moved. I followed the mask with my eyes, waiting for my chance to --

"Link!"

I shot a quick glance towards Tatl and sidestepped a fireball. Wonderful. The other four masks were spitting fire at me. I narrowed my eyes. Majora had to be controlling them somehow. If I stopped it, this would all be over.

"Let's go, Tatl!"

"Uh, right!" She flew past me towards Majora, clearly keeping her distance. I followed her and Majora around the room; it seemed that the dungeon masks couldn't target me properly if I just kept moving.

I swung at Majora, but the mask blocked with its tendrils. Whatever they were made of, it was sturdy. Cursing under my breath, I tried to feint to the right, hoping Majora would take the bait.

It did.

"There's an opening! There, left side!"

I tried to swing my blade towards that opening, but it instead swung back towards the mask floating just behind me. Odolwa.

"No!" I yelled, forcing the blade out of its trajectory by sheer willpower, missing Odolwa by little more than a hair. "Focus on Majora!"

"_Kill them all! They're all working together!"_ that angry voice growled in my head.

"No! They helped me. Leave them alone!" I felt a single tear run down my left cheek and scowled before wiping it away, turning my attention back towards Majora --

-- except not, because the me-that-wasn't-me turned my body towards Odolwa again.

"_Stop resisting me!"_ the voice boomed. "_Sleep and let me fight!_"

"I'm not sleeping now! I can handle this!" I yelled. "Let me go."

Majora stared at me from across the room, not moving. Was he wondering what was going on? And the other masks, what were they doing?

"_No. You let me go_."

"Not a chance!"

"_You wanted my help, so let me handle this!"_

"No!" I screamed, my voice booming in the small room. Tatl screamed my name as some kind of warning. The me-that-wasn't-me swatted a fireball away with my sword, as if it was nothing.

"_I'm stronger than you, boy, and a much better warrior!_"

Somewhere to the side, wood struck the stone wall and cracked loudly. "_One down_," the voice seemed to smirk in my head.

"No! I won't let you kill them! They're innocent!"

Majora laughed triumphantly. Suddenly, there was a blast of energy streaking towards my face. I didn't even have the chance to try to dodge...

The energy slammed into my face and chest, sending me flying into the wall. I hit hard, my armor cracking and my sword skittering across the room.

Majora kept laughing. The mask had grown arms and legs and spun in the center of the suddenly brightly-lit room like some giant, nightmarish top. The dungeon masks were nowhere to be seen. Were they destroyed... or had Majora simply tired of his toys?

I forced myself to my feet. Or maybe the voice in my head did. It didn't matter. Where was my sword?

"Link! Are you all right?"

"Tatl? You aren't hurt, are you?"

She flew up to me and landed on my shoulder. "I'm fine, but you! Why didn't you dodge that? Didn't you hear me warn you?"

"Sorry. I got distracted." I wasn't going to talk about this now. There, off to my left! I quickly retrieved my sword and turned back to Majora. Why did it seem that everytime I looked away, the room changed size? Another of Majora's trick, no doubt.

"Distracted? By what? Who do you keep yelling at?"

I growled. "Not _now_, Tatl!"

"I'm over here, Ogre!" Majora called, waving at me. Was it _mocking_ me? Did that pathetic fool think he was going to defeat _me_? "You're no good at this game, are you?"

"_I'm better at this than you!_" the voice in my head yelled through me. Tatl shrank away from my face at the sound. I felt myself lunge forward.

"Get out of my head!" I tried to scream, but I couldn't get the words out.

Tatl flew off my shoulder as I moved, her strange chime ringing loudly in my ear. "No, Link! Right side! Dodge to the right!"

I didn't see it coming, but I felt it when it hit; Majora lashed out with a quick kick and slung me across the room. I hit the stone floor face first and slid into the wall. Something wooden cracked. The world flashed crimson.

The mask I wore shifted on my face as I sat up. What? I reached up, expecting to feel blood, but all I felt was painted wood marred by a crack down the forehead. The mask was warm, too warm.

Across the room, Majora started bouncing and dancing, laughing all the while. The room had gotten larger, seeming more like a massive cavern than anything resembling a room; every little sound echoed off the walls.

I... I couldn't do this anymore. I couldn't handle him. He was too strong. I blinked back tears. No, I _couldn't_ lose here. Termina depended on me! There had to be a way; there had to be something I could do!

My mind reeled. If only -- If only the voice in my head was another person! Two people... Majora wasn't good enough to handle two people at once. I stared down at my shadow and bit my lip. In the Water Temple, it had broken off of me and risen against me. Maybe...

"_No! -- won't lose to this -- get up! Get up!" _The voice was quieter, more distant and echoing in my head. "_To your feet!"_

My left hand started throbbing. The Triforce of Courage was flaring. Din, Nayru, Farore, please! I needed help!

"Link!" Tatl shrieked. "Get up!"

"Goddesses, please..." I whispered. "Just this once, just for this fight, let my shadow fight with me!"

Nothing.

I wasn't in Hyrule; They couldn't hear me; I was going to die. Someone, anyone, please! I didn't want Termina to die because of me!

"_My shell is broken -- sleep within -- you and I would -- Majora couldn't --" _The voice was like a whisper now, too quiet to make most of it out; what I made out didn't make sense.

"Link, get up!"

All I could do was sit there, slumped against the cold stone wall; I watched Majora slowly coming closer, coming to kill me.

"_You call yourself a hero?"_

I sucked in a quick breath at the venom in the strange voice. But there was something else there, as well: pity and fear. I had to be imagining that. What if Zelda saw me like this? I defeated Ganondorf; I wasn't a coward!

"Link!" Tatl smacked the mask; it shifted, the eyeholes moving away from my eyes and wood blocking my sight. "Don't just sit there!"

"_Live or die -- accept or deny -- decide now!"_

"I'm not dying here!" I yelled, my voice muffled by the mask. I staggered to my feet, adjusting the mask so I could see through it again. Majora stopped, just out of reach, staring at me.

Something moved beneath me, tugging at my feet and almost sending me crashing down to the floor. I looked down right as my shadow tore itself free and charged Majora. How did -- no, it didn't matter; now was my chance! I tightened my grip on my sword and followed. The mask I'd been wearing split completely in two as I moved, the two halves falling away from my face.

Majora was too busy blocking my shadow's attacks to stop mine. I slammed my blade into the oversized mask that made up the thing's body. The sound of wood cracking boomed in the room.

It turned towards me and swung, but I managed to dodge and countered by putting all the strength I had left into one rough thrust, burying the double blade almost to the hilt in Majora's wooden and yet disturbingly fleshy body. Majora cried out in what I guessed was pain and tried to pull away.

And then it slammed into the floor when my shadow tackled it from behind. I pulled out my ocarina, although I couldn't really say why. Before I really knew what was happening, I had already started playing the Song of Healing.

Majora screamed as the song's magic wrapped around it, jerking and kicking and trying desperately to escape. The room shook violently and started to collapse, the rumbling getting louder and louder until it drowned out Majora entirely. There was a brilliant flash of light that turned everything white and...

Somewhere, very near and yet faraway, I heard the sound of a wooden mask falling to the ground.

xXx

I woke up on my back in the grass of south Termina Field, staring up at a clear blue sky. The moon that had plagued my every move for so long was gone. I laughed, even though everything hurt.

"I was beginning to think you were dead," I heard myself say, except I didn't say anything. Wincing, I sat up... and almost screamed.

Sitting next to me was my shadow, only now it was a person!

"Hey!" my shadow yelped, jumping to his feet. "Calm down; I'm not going to hurt you!"

"What's going on?"

My shadow sighed and picked two things up from off the grass. "We won." He tossed them towards me. It was the mask Odolwa had given me, the strange mask that had, somehow, helped save the world.

It was the Fierce Deity's Mask, not that I knew how I knew that, and it had split down the middle. The wood looked old and half-rotted, and the paint was faded and peeling. I didn't even need to touch it to know that its magic was gone.

"We won...?" Of course we had. I looked over at him. He had turned towards Clock Town, staring at something in the distance. This wasn't like when I'd fought my shadow at all; my shadow then had been little more than a shadow given shape and form. My shadow now looked just like me, except he had deep red eyes and coal black hair.

I ran a hand through my hair. Wait, why was my hair white? My hair wasn't supposed to be white! And yet, somehow it was. The Fierce Deity's Mask had white hair...

"What color are my eyes?" I asked.

He turned to me and blinked slowly. "Blue."

At least that had stayed the same. I looked over at him. "Why are you still here?"

"What do you mean why am I still here?"

"You were only supposed to be here for the fight with Majora."

He smirked. "Well _obviously_ I'm here for more than that. It's not my fault that you needed help."

I didn't need any help; it was that brat of a -- where did that come from? I shook my head to clear it and stood up.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Elsewhere," I snapped.

He stood up, crossing his arms. "You're not going anywhere without me!"

"Watch me!" I started to walk away, but he tackled me from behind and we rolled across the grass, wrestling...

xXx

The sun had started to sink by the time I woke up, stiff and sore. I groaned, looking up at the sky. The moon was gone.

Wait, was my shadow still here? No, he wasn't; I was the only one for as far as I could see. Maybe I'd just dreamed about waking up next to my shadow?

I checked my hair: blond, like always. Yeah, it must've just been a really weird dream... stress from everything I'd been through. I groaned again and climbed to my feet. Maybe Cremia would let me sleep in the barn; sleep sounded good right now.

I took one more look up at the vast, moon-free sky and smiled. Termina was safe now. Majora was sealed back inside the mask, and everything could return to normal now.

Yeah, everything was back to normal now. I nodded, doing my best to ignore the buzzing in my head, and then started towards Romani Ranch.

xXx

_Shadow could only watch as the army of Stalfos burst out of the lake and shore and lunge at the three on the shore. Time, Zelda, and Malon quickly disappeared from his sight, blocked by far more walking death than he'd ever seen in one place before._

"_No!" he yelled, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good. "Get away from them!"_

_Zelda screamed. His friends were dying, and all he could do was watch. __No; there had to be something he could do. He wasn't powerless. He _wasn't._ If he could stop a moon, he could stop an army of walking dead._

"_Destroy them all..." the strange voice whispered. "Slaughter everything that dares oppose us..."_


	14. Chapter 9: Reawakening

_Author's notes: Sorry this took so long. Here we are: the third and final part of the battle at Lake Hylia._

* * *

The army descended, a noose of corpses tightening around its target. Around my friends. And they couldn't fight it off...

I had to get out of this. I had to get over there. If I could act as a distraction, maybe we could... My chest was churning again, as if something was trying to tear itself out of me. I didn't care. I couldn't care, because if I didn't do something _now_, my other half and my two best friends were all going to die!

The briefest image of a shield bearing a roaring lion, right before it was covered by the monsters that tackled its wielder.

"Time!" I screamed, clawing frantically at the ice in front of me. If only I was stronger, I could break out of this damnedable ice!

_Destroy my enemies!_

A scream of pain, followed by a flash of morning light off of a halberd as it flew to the side, knocked from its owner's hands.

"Malon! No, no, no! They were going to die right in front of me! You _bastard_, Karnon! My fingers were bloody and my vision blurring with tears, but I kept struggling. If only I could get out, then I'd -- I'd --

_Slaughter all who oppose me!_

A spike of magical energy in the air that flickered and died as a figure in blue vanished beneath the crush of bones and steel.

"_Zelda!" _There! In front of me, a sword! I reached out, my bleeding fingers brushing the metal handle. Just a little further... _Goddesses, please! I need more power... I need more _power!

A Stalfos held up a bloody blade and roared in triumph.

My fingers wrapped around the cold hilt, the sword humming to life.

_Destroy them all!_

The ice shattered.

My mind went with it.

**Fade to Black**  
**Chapter Nine: Reawakening**

_I can't breathe_.

I shoved at my shield, trying to get it away from my chest, but no. There was too much weight on my shield... My hands and feet were numb; I barely felt my sword slip from my grip.

I fell down to one knee, but the Stalfos shifted down with me, continuing to press down on me. The world was getting dark around the edges of my vision, all the color draining away as everything grew blurry.

I should have insisted that Malon and Zelda stay away, should have insisted that Shadow and I be left to do this ourselves. Then this wouldn't be happening. Then, my friends wouldn't be...

_We're dying. I'm... I'm so sorry..._

My body felt so heavy. I fell to the other knee, my shield pressing harder into my chest. I couldn't even try to fight back now. The world began fading to black.

And then, just as I was about to pass out, I heard a mighty scream -- no, that tiny still-rational part of my mind recognized it for what it was: a warcry. The ground jerked violently beneath my feet, slinging me roughly to the ground as the sound of a massive explosion drowned out all the sound. I went one direction, while the Stalfos atop me went another, their crushing weight falling away from my shield.

I sucked in a very welcome breath, my head spinning. I wasn't dead! I could breathe! For a moment, I just laid there in a heap, trying to catch my breath. Malon and Zelda -- were they alive, or had they died before the explosion?

The air was thick with dust as I staggered to my feet. Somewhere -- I was so disoriented that I wasn't sure which direction was the lake, or even how long I'd tried to catch my breath -- I heard the all-too-familiar sound of steel cleaving bone. Someone was battling the Stalfos.

I adjusted my shield on my arm and tried to peer through the cloud. My sword was nowhere to be seen; nor could I see Malon or Zelda, even though they'd been beside me when the Stalfos attacked us... My mind was still hazy; was that the problem?

Why couldn't I catch my breath? My chest felt like it was on fire.

The cloud finally began to settle, and I barely made out the shape of a figure moving within the cloud, attacking something. It wasn't Malon or Zelda, instead a tall, broad-shouldered man. I couldn't make out anything more than that, and I didn't think I wanted to, either. Some old, half-forgotten memory screamed at me to get away -- to run while I had the chance.

A hand grabbed my shoulder, and someone yanked me back, away from the settling dust and the fearsome warrior in its midst.

"Time, are you all right?" Zelda. _Zelda_! Thank the Goddesses; she was alive!

"Winded," I forced out. "Malon?"

Zelda nodded. "She isn't hurt. What of you? Are you certain you aren't injured?"

I could only nod. "You?"

She smiled nervously. "I'm fine. You don't look very well."

Therein lay the problem, I thought darkly. I'd had more than enough time to catch my breath, even with everything that had happened, but I hadn't. Something wasn't right here; I shouldn't be like this.

Was Shadow all right? If I was right, the noise had come from the direction of the lake, and that was where I had last seen him. Was that why my chest hurt so much? Was he hurt... or dead? No, I couldn't start thinking like that. I needed to worry about more immediate concerns, like the man in the dust.

The dust had finally settled enough to give us a clear view of the lake. The lake looked like... like the world's largest powder keg had gone off on its surface, a massive spiderweb of cracks radiating out across its frozen surface from a small, deep crater. The crater wasn't far from where I'd last seen Shadow! No, he couldn't be dead, could he?

"Say something," I murmured, projecting it more mentally than audibly. No answer, except that the tight burning in my chest turned as cold as ice.

And that was when I knew we were in trouble.

"Who is _that_?" Malon gasped, pointing towards the shoreline to our left. I turned to look at what she was pointing out; my blood ran cold at the sight of the man sitting on the grass.

This _wasn't_ happening!

Even with the haze in my mind, my memory recognized every detail of his appearance with perfect, frightening clarity. Black armor that seemed to absorb any light that struck it wrapped around a body that was too tall and broad to be a Hylian; no doubt he towered over the three of us. Silvery-white hair, empty white eyes, warpaint the color of fresh blood...

I knew him. I knew him because I had _been_ him once. The Fierce Deity, the soul inside the mask that had helped me defeat Majora. The mask had split in two during the battle; how could anyone have tapped its power? It was destroyed!

He looked up then, that empty gaze piercing straight through me. He climbed slowly, lazily, to his feet before picking up the Helix Blade from the grass beside him and resting the massive sword lightly on one shoulder.

"Well, well, well," he said, smirking. "I see I have been beaten to my prey by little more than _children. _Such a disappointment."

"We were given an opportunity, and we seized upon it. If you truly wished to be the one who slew him, you should not have forced us to act," Zelda said, her voice much stronger than I thought it would be.

"Does it really matter _who_ killed him?" Malon snapped. "He's dead."

He laughed at that, a deep, booming laugh that reminded me vaguely of Ganondorf. "I see the children think they're adults. Amusing." He looked at each of us in turn and then began to stride towards us, the early morning light gleaming off his sword.

He _did_ tower over us, I had to note. And it wouldn't be long before we would be in reach of that blade. I didn't like the idea of having to fight him.

I stepped towards him, gritting my teeth as my right knee almost gave out. This wasn't good. If a battle broke out, and that seemed likely, there was nothing I could do to defend any of us. I was... I was little more than dead weight right now.

The Fierce Deity watched me as I struggled to stay on my feet, his face oddly neutral. Why wasn't he taking advantage of my weakness?

"Time!" Zelda hissed behind me. I heard her step forward.

He sneered at her. "And what reason do you _children_ have for meddling in my affairs?"

"We are defending our kingdom," Zelda said, her voice soft and dangerous. Her hand slid down towards her chain-whip. Behind her, Malon readied her halberd.

"No!" I yelled, sinking to one knee. They couldn't fight. This wasn't a fight they could win! If only I could say more than a word or two at a time, then I could tell them. I could warn them about what they were dealing with...

_Say something, Shadow,_ I sent, sucking in a sharp breath at the sudden stabbing pain in my chest. I felt like I'd just been run through with a knife... Why couldn't I talk to him without feeling worse?

The Fierce Deity turned to me and shook his head. "This isn't your fight, Link. I'll take care of these two; you rest."

"No!" I yelled again, trying and failing to stand back up. I wasn't going to let him hurt Malon and Zelda; I wasn't! "Stop!"

"How do you know his name?" Zelda demanded.

I grit my teeth. "Termina," I forced out.

"What? You... You _know_ him?" she gasped, turning to me with wide eyes.

I nodded before saying "No... fighting," even though I got the feeling that they weren't really listening to me. Both of them looked ready to fight, and I knew he wouldn't turn down the chance for a battle.

He put a hand on my shoulder. I flinched. If he was close enough to touch me, then the others were both in reach of that sword!

"You're pushing yourself too hard. Catch your breath. I have this," he said, letting his sword fall from his shoulder.

Zelda and Malon stepped back, out of his reach, and readied their weapons. He grinned in a way I wasn't comfortable at all with and raised his sword, energy crackling down the blades. They braced themselves.

No. That wasn't going to work. They weren't as safe as they thought; he was going to throw --

"Move!" I screamed before hitting my other knee and gasping for breath. They had to get out of the way! He swung his blade.

The ground before me exploded into a cloud of dirt and grass as the energy ring struck. I stared at the cloud, trying desperately to see through it. I hadn't heard any screaming; that meant they dodged, right?

And then the sounds of a struggle erupted from beyond the cloud. They were fighting. There had to be something I could do to stop this before anyone got hurt!

I grit my teeth and staggered up to my feet. My shield tugged painfully at my arm, too heavy to wield right now. I still refused to drop it; it was the only means of defense I had left, and I wasn't going to give it up easily. Besides, undoing the straps holding it to my arm would take far too much of my strength, and I didn't have much left. I couldn't waste it. After taking far too long to find my balance, I started towards the cloud. The sounds of battle grew louder as I approached.

_Get your shield up, you damned idiot!_

Somehow I found the strength to do just that, raising it right as something heavy slammed into it, shoving me backwards. I tried to compensate for the shift in my balance, but raising my shield had taken most of the the strength I had left. I fell, hitting the ground hard and sprawling across the grass. The impact knocked the wind out of me; I lay there, gasping for breath.

"Time? Time, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Malon called.

That was _Malon_? Had she been aiming at me, or was that just a stray swing? Thank the Goddesses I got my shield up...

_I thought I told you; this isn't your fight! Stay out of this and let me handle it!_

My eyes widened. That wasn't Shadow's voice, but it was in my head. It was... The Fierce Deity was in my head. He was in my head! But why would he warn me? Why was he protecting me even as he was attacking my friends? This didn't make any sense!

I finally managed to recover enough to sit up; the dirt had settled down, no longer hiding the fight. It was a painfully one-sided battle; even against both Malon and Zelda, he easily held his own, dodging or parrying their every attack as if they were nothing. For the moment, my friends were able to dodge or deflect his attacks, but he wasn't putting all his effort into the fight yet. And they weren't going to be able to keep this pace up for long. Once they tired... they were as good as dead.

I forced myself onto one knee, ignoring the pain lancing through my chest. I had to distract him so they could get away!

He laughed. "This ends now!" He lashed out with a quick swing, slamming the flat of his blade into Zelda's side. She screamed as the blow sent her flying into the ground, crumpling into a heap after she hit.

"Zelda!" I screamed, somehow finding the strength to haul myself up to my feet. She wasn't moving; please, _please_, say she was just unconscious.

Malon skid to a halt next to Zelda before dropping to her knees, trying to wake the princess up. She was just unconscious, I thought. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead.

He moved, and I turned back to him as he raised his sword and smirked. Energy crackled down the blade. Malon had her back turned; Malon couldn't see him! No. _No_! He wasn't killing my friends!

I charged, raising my shield and throwing myself between my friends and the Fierce Deity, bracing myself to take the blow. This was going to hurt, but I had to do it. I skid into position at the very instant he hurled the ring towards us. His eyes went wide.

_Get out of the way! What do you think you're --_

The ring crashed into my shield and exploded, taking my shield with it. Shattered pieces of jagged metal and wood slashed at my face as the shockwave slammed into my body like an explosion. I tried to scream -- I was being torn apart! -- but I couldn't make a sound. I didn't remember going airborne, but I remembered slamming hard into the unyielding ground.

The last thing I was aware of before the world faded to black was a loud roar of pain coming from somewhere in front of me...

xXx

The sun was high in the sky when I woke up. I'd been moved; I was now in a small patch of shade beneath the eaves of the Lakeside Laboratory, or at least what was left of it; the building was damaged and crumbling. I felt better than I probably should have considering the blow I took, and I didn't have any visible injuries. Someone must've given me potion.

That would be a much more comforting thought if I knew who that someone was.

"It's no good," I heard Zelda saying. "He isn't waking up, and no matter what we do, he just keeps getting colder. If only we could get him to Castletown, but dare we risk trying to move him?"

"I don't know," Malon replied. "I don't think he's up to the trip. Besides, Time hasn't woken up yet."

"Yes, I have," I mumbled, sitting up. I could breathe normally now, although I felt oddly light-headed, almost like I was surrounded by powerful magic. I shook my head gently to try and clear it before looking around.

Zelda and Malon sat not far away, their attention mostly focused on the man lying in front of them. Malon turned towards me.

"Time, how are you feeling?"

"I'll manage. What happened after I... passed out?"

She pointed down at the man. I walked over and knelt beside her, gasping as I saw him.

It was Shadow lying there, his skin cold, his face pale, and his breathing shallow. He didn't have any visible injuries. For reasons I didn't understand, he was wearing the Fierce Deity's armor, although the armor seemed to be dissolving away, its edges faded and splitting into shadowy tatters.

"Shadow? What's going on here?"

"It's no use trying to talk to him, Time. He isn't waking up."

I stared down at him for a moment. "Why is he wearing that armor?"

Malon cleared her throat. "Well, we don't really know."

"Tell me what you do know."

She nodded slowly. "All I know is that after you jumped in the way of that... that thing he threw at us, you collapsed. And then he... he grabbed his head and started screaming, and then he crumpled to the ground.

"When Zelda woke up and we went over there, it wasn't that strange man laying there. It was Shadow. We brought him over here, and he's been unconscious ever since."

I scowled. So after he hit me with that energy ring, the Fierce Deity collapsed... and turned into Shadow? That should have only been possible if Shadow had been wearing the mask and then removed it, but...

I'd put the two pieces of the Fierce Deity's Mask to rest with my other transformation masks years ago. They were all buried in Ikana Graveyard, in a place only Shadow and I knew about. And even if it wasn't buried anymore, it was in two pieces. It didn't possess its magic anymore. It was just two pieces of old wood. It was _broken._

I reached up and massaged my temples, trying to ignore the buzzing slowly getting louder in my head.

Shadow groaned and shifted slightly, opening his eyes just enough to show their color. I relaxed somewhat when I saw red; with everything else that had happened, I half-expected his eyes to be white and empty.

He rocked his head towards me and rasped something that I couldn't make out. I scowled and shook my head. He closed his eyes. Words echoed in my head, words in a language I didn't know. That was Shadow's voice, but why wasn't he speaking Hylian?

"I'm sorry, Shadow," I said. "I can't understand you."

He sighed, and then he furrowed his brow in concentration, half opening his eyes and staring at me. "I'm... falling apart..."

"No, you aren't!" I grabbed his shoulders, planning on talking sense into him. We merged before I got the chance. The world blurred and twisted for a moment, and then I was curled up on my side on the cool grass, feeling very much like I'd just been put together wrong.

"Link!" Zelda yelled, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head. The odd feeling was quickly fading, and then I felt a distinct _something_ settle itself into one of the edges of my perception, something that wasn't either of my halves. That had never happened before.

"Is something wrong?" Malon asked.

"Uh, no. I'm... I'm fine," I lied. I wasn't wearing the Fierce Deity's armor anymore, but that wasn't very comforting. The Fierce Deity was still present, still... alive? I scowled. I wasn't sure what to think about that. It seemed that not all of my past was as at rest as I had thought it was. Not good.

In the meantime, however... "What are we going to do about all of this?"

Zelda shook her head slowly. "I do not know."

For the most part, the Stalfos' remains had already been burned away by the sun; what still remained would be gone before long, a day or two at most. Karnon and Elis' corpses needed... something. I didn't feel like giving enemies a proper burial, but... they still deserved something more than being left to the animals. And then there was the matter of Lake Hylia itself. Was I right? Would the lake melt on its own?

It probably would, but that still left the matter of all of the tortured spirits sealed inside that ice. As the lake melted, they'd slowly be released, and I didn't like the idea of a bunch of angry spirits being allowed free reign over this part of Hyrule. We needed to do something about them; the ice could melt on its own. The bodies... most of them had either risen up against us when Karnon died or had been destroyed when Shadow blew himself out of the ice. The few that remained would no doubt wash up on the shoreline once the ice melted.

It'd be a grim task, but the lake could be cleaned up, if and only if those spirits were taken care of somehow. There had to be a way to do that, something I was missing. I sighed; I was missing something obvious here.

I sat up. "We can at least do something about their bodies. Build them a pyre or such."

"A pyre? Do they really deserve that after what they've done?" Zelda said bitterly.

I put my head in my hands as images flashed in my head. Kakariko Graveyard. The Ancient Castle of Ikana. A lone gravestone in a mountain cave. A driftwood and stone monument marked only by the guitar tied to it. A sad little tree in a forgotten tunnel deep beneath the Clock Tower.

"Is there something wrong, Link?"

"Neither of you has to help me." I looked at the sky. "But I need to do this. It doesn't matter now what they wanted to do to Hyrule, or to us. They were people. They deserve something to give them rest."

Zelda gave me an odd look, as if I had just confused her. I decided not to comment on that, instead climbing to my feet.

"How many fires do we need tonight? I'll get the wood for them while I get wood for the pyre."

She didn't answer, instead staring thoughtfully out across the lake.

"One fire," Malon said. "Enough to keep us warm tonight, and more importantly, to cook a warm meal. We all need to eat after last night."

I didn't disagree there. It had been a hard fight for all of us. I looked out over the shore and took a deep breath. Karnon was dead. He couldn't threaten Hyrule anymore. True, we still had the mess to clean up, but it was over now right?

No. This might be over, but now I had other problems to deal with. Like finding out how something can be broken and yet whole. But first, I needed wood.

All I could do was handle one thing at a time. Slow and steady.

xXx

_Hmph. This is the best these children can do? How did they manage to defeat Karnon if they're so weak? Enough -- I tire of this pathetic game. They must die._

_The blonde finally leaves herself open. I swing, knocking her away with the flat of my sword. This is too easy! Pity, I was looking forward to a challenge... but no matter. The other girl falls to her knees beside the first. How convenient! I can destroy both of them at once! And then there will be _nothing_ to stand against me._

_I hurl the ring, but there's someone in the way -- the boy is in the way!_

Get out of the way! What do you think you're --

_The ring explodes; fire lances through my chest. I stumble, barely staying standing. Damned fool! Does he realize what he's done? What does he think this will accomplish? Why is he saving them?_

_They're a threat! They're... they're..._

_Zelda... and Malon..._

_Din, Nayru, and Farore, I'm doing it again! I didn't hurt them, did I? Please, forgive me!_

_I scream. I feel... empty, somehow. The world fades to black._


	15. Chapter 10: Song of Healing

_Author's Note: Wow. I know I don't guarantee updates or anything, but I still feel like I need to apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out. I'm really sorry about it. I haven't forgotten about this story, and I will finish it. I'm just slow sometimes. This chapter was harder to write than I thought it would be._

On the bright side, there's more to this update than just this chapter. Chapter One through Side Chapter Two have been replaced with revised versions. Chapter Five through Side Chapter Three are being worked on; they'll be uploaded with the final chapter, and I'm going to try to make that update a bit more timely than the last two. Thanks for all the reviews, and I hope you enjoy. 

* * *

"Ah, you have recovered the precious item that you lost..." he said, grinning. "That is good."

I nodded, managing to not fall over. I'd gotten the Ocarina back, and he said that I could get back to normal if I did. So... did that mean this was over now?

"Then please follow along with me," he said with a laugh, sitting down at a massive pipe organ. I didn't remember there being an organ down here, and I was pretty sure I'd remember something so out of place. Then again, compared to everything _else_ that had happened over the last three days, a magically appearing pipe organ was nothing.

"This guy is creepy..." Tatl whispered. And he was. I just wanted to get back to normal and get out of here.

He started playing a gentle song on the organ. I listened for a moment and then started playing along, slowly at first but then building to the steady rhythm of the melody. The music seemed to wrap itself around me, comforting me.

I knew then that I was myself again.

**Fade to Black**  
**Chapter Ten: Song of Healing**

The sun hung low in the western sky as I put the last piece of wood in place. It was strange; I'd never built a pyre before, nor had I ever seen one built, yet somehow I knew how to put one together.

I tried not to focus on that thought too much -- because how I knew wasn't important, really, and it made me uneasy that I knew at all -- and instead leaned back against the pyre to catch my breath and dig a piece of jerky out of a pouch. I was starving, and the thought that Zelda and Malon were cooking over by the ruined lab didn't help.

Some tiny part of my mind wished that Karnon and Elis had been Garo. Then I wouldn't _need_ to build them a pyre. No, no; why was I thinking like that? They were men; they were dead; their bodies lay not far from me. At least there weren't any floating lanterns, I thought.

The sun began to set. I sighed and swallowed the last of the jerky. If I wanted to get this pyre going tonight, I needed to get moving. Elis wasn't as heavy as I had thought, although it still wasn't particularly easy to haul him up onto the wood. Karnon, on the other hand, was heavier than I had figured a mage to be... but I hadn't bothered to check what he carried underneath his bulky robes, nor did I plan to. Whatever he carried no doubt bore the taint of his dark magic; it was best to just destroy it all.

I set Karnon down beside the pyre and leaned back against it. This would be much easier if I had help, but I didn't dare ask Malon or Zelda to help me. It was bad enough that they had come here in the first place, bad enough that they'd helped fight... bad enough that they'd helped kill Karnon. I didn't want them to have to see this... wasn't that the whole point of going back in time?

I shook my head. I needed to stop thinking about that and start focusing on what I was doing. I'd just split and finish that way --

The world flashed red for a second, and my head felt like something had slammed into it. I put a hand to my head and fell back against the pyre. What was...?

Never mind, _that_ wasn't going to work. I closed my eyes and focused on just breathing until the pain finally faded away. I couldn't split.

In some ways, it was just as well after what happened to Shadow. The worst part to me was the gap in Shadow's memory -- he was trapped in the lake, and then he woke up beside the lab. I wished he remembered what had happened to him. All of this made me afraid of my power. What if... What if that had happened in Castletown? The Fierce Deity could have slaughtered hundreds of innocent people!

I opened my eyes and stared down at the cold corpse at my feet. Maybe Karnon was right. Maybe I _was_ a monster...

"Link? Are you all right?"

Zelda. What was she doing here? She didn't need to see this; she'd already seen and done too much.

"I'm fine," I said, pushing myself back up to my feet. It was easy to see how uncomfortable she seemed, namely the fact she stood well away from the pyre. "I just needed to catch my breath."

"Malon and I were getting worried; you've been working a long time."

"Sorry. I didn't expect this to take so long." I glanced down at Karnon's corpse. I needed to get this finished, get this fire started. We couldn't leave -- at least, _I_ couldn't -- until I knew everything had been taken care of and cleaned up. After the corpses, there was still the matter of the lake itself.

Zelda looked away, swallowing hard and taking a deep breath before saying softly, "Do... Do you need any help?"

"I can manage." There wasn't much she could do to help now, and I didn't like any of the options. She was the princess of Hyrule; she wasn't supposed to be doing such dirty work. "It's my duty to make this pyre, not yours."

I grabbed Karnon by the shoulders and yanked hard, manhandling the corpse up onto the wood. I was_ not _going to let her touch a corpse! It hurt to push myself that hard, but I forced myself to do it anyway. I had to do this. Zelda wasn't supposed to do or see any of this!

My knees gave out, and I fell, landing on Karnon before rolling towards the edge of the pyre. When the motion stopped, I was half on, half off the pile of wood. Zelda was on her knees beside the pyre with my head and shoulders practically in her lap.

"Uh, thanks," I said weakly before clambering up to my feet. Karnon wasn't lying very neatly, but he was on the wood. That was going to have to suffice; I didn't have the strength left to move him again.

"You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm fine. Are you all right?"

She smiles, but it's forced; she looks pale. "I'm not hurt. Can we go back to camp now?"

I nod and pull an arrow out of my quiver. "Go on ahead. I'll be there in a little while. I need to light this." I whispered the word for fire; the arrowhead burst into flame.

Zelda nodded back and then started to walk away; she seemed a bit unsteady. Was she all right? I needed to check on her when I got back to camp, but first, this pyre needed lighting. I waited until she was most of the way back to camp before leaning in and lighting the tinder.

Then I watched the flames until I was certain they had caught, trying not to think too much about what was burning. Right now, the pyre was well downwind of camp, and with any luck the wind wouldn't shift overnight. Now that it was burning, there wasn't any real need to stay with it -- everything was dead, the ground covered in patches of bare dirt.

What was I to do now? I wasn't really comfortable leaving the area with the pyre burning, even if I did want to get away from it. And even if I did leave, where would I go? I sighed; I needed to figure out what to do about the lake.

I glanced over at the ruined laboratory and the small fire burning near it. I could just make out Zelda and Malon, sitting close to each other and the flames. They were waiting on me... but I just couldn't. Not yet, not with everything that had happened. I didn't even know if I could trust myself around them. What if I hurt them?

I yanked off my gloves and tossed them into the flames. Burn, fire, I thought. Burn this all away.

Then I took one more look at the figures by the distant fire and nodded to myself before starting across the ice towards the island above the Water Temple. I knew what the lake was and even what it looked like, but I needed to see this with my own eyes.

The lake was even more eerie in the moonlight; the ice seemed to glow, and the figures suspended in it seemed wispy and ethereal, their bodies posed like twisted statues. In many ways, it didn't even seem like I was in the real world at the moment, more like I was trapped in some kind of dream. There were so many dead... so many restless.

Moonlight gleamed off of the sides of the crater, and chunks of ice lay strewn across the rest of the lake, some empty, others contained pieces of what had been people. Other remains were scattered as well, although it seemed that all of them had refrozen where they'd fallen. Nothing moved. The air hummed with magic, its power cold against me. Was the glow from the magic or from the moonlight reflecting off the icy surface? Or... was it Poe-light? Were there Poes trapped within the lake? It was practically a given; there were Poes beneath the ice. And when the ice melted away...

There had to be a way to purge the malice and pain from the spirits trapped in the lake. I couldn't let that escape. Hyrule had already lived a nightmare in the Time That Wasn't; it didn't deserve another one.

I sighed and looked around at the sea of ice and frozen men. There had to be a way to stop this, to try to --

A low crack came from beneath me. Did I step on something? I glanced down.

Hands burst out from the ice and wrapped around my lower legs, yanking me down! I tried to fight free, but more and more kept grabbing me. Where were they all coming from?

They kept yanking and yanking, and then the ice opened up and I was falling, falling down into a void filled with hands...

I woke up with a start, my sword half-drawn before I realized I was alone. I was on the island above the Water Temple, sitting beneath the tree. A dream. That was all that was. The ice was not about to break open... at least, not in such a dramatic fashion. Or so I hoped.

Sighing, I fell back against the tree and looked across the lake at the two fires. Why was I being so calm about all of this? I had just started a pyre for two men I killed. I had walked across a lake with untold numbers of dead men sealed within it. There was no reason for me to be so calm right now -- the Hero of Time wouldn't be this calm; he'd be practically frantic.

I'd changed a lot since I left Hyrule. Too used to fighting; too used to seeing death. Some hero I was now: bitter, cynical, and part of me had tried to kill my friends!

I shook my head. There had to be an explanation for that, too. Maybe the magic on the lake caused it, though... the Fierce Deity wasn't supposed to _exist_ anymore. The mask split in two. I buried it in Ikana Graveyard with the rest of my gear.

Across the lake, one of the girls walked over to check on the horses. No, it was Malon; I could just make out the red of her hair.

How could I see that well? True, there was moonlight, and the expanse of ice helped brighten the area, but... she was across the lake from me, and I could still tell the color of her hair. When I wore the Fierce Deity's Mask so long ago, I'd been able to see in the dark. Shadow had no difficulty at all seeing in total darkness. Was this somehow connected with what had happened earlier?

That wasn't very comforting.

My head started buzzing; I closed my eyes and focused on breathing. Dust -- dust and magic. The wind howled in my ears for a moment, empty and lonely and insistent. And then it was gone, as suddenly as it had come.

Ikana Canyon.

What was that about? I didn't have any reason to be thinking about Termina right now -- I had too much to worry about here. And yet... something was happening in Termina, something bad. _No_, I couldn't go charging off to Termina now, especially not because of something so minor! I had to purge the lake first. I had to make sure Hyrule was safe before I could worry about anywhere else.

Even so, I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. This felt eerily like it had when I opened the Door of Time and when I first reached the Clock Tower, like everything around me was beginning to spiral out of control. Karnon was nothing compared to this...

Hadn't I saved the world enough?

_That which was sleeping is no longer buried,_ a voice echoed in my head.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking out across the lake.

No answer. Had I just imagined the voice? I shook my head and stretched. I needed sleep; that much was certain. I'd get some sleep, and then tomorrow I could start searching for a way to clean up the mess Karnon left behind him...

_Take away their suffering,_ the voice whispered. _Wash away their pain with your music._

I blinked sleepily. At ease with my music? I didn't -- no, I did. That was it! The Song of Healing had the power to break curses and sooth away the pain of restless spirits. If anything could break the spell Karnon had cast on those men, that would be it.

Why was I so tired all of a sudden? I wasn't all that tired until just a moment ago; now I didn't even know if I had the energy to stand.

_Sleep. I will do this._

I wasn't sure I believed the voice, but I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer...

xXx

"Zellie, is that Link?"

Zelda looked out at the figure walking slowly across the shattered lake. "It must be; there is no one else here."

"Do you think he's okay? He's avoiding us."

Zelda stood up and brushed her hair away from her face. "He's trying to shield us, I think." From the pyre, from death. She closed her eyes.

"But do you think he's all right?"

"I don't know. I think we should go talk to him."

Malon nodded.

The two of them set off across the ice, stepping carefully on the slick wet surface and avoiding anything rising from its surface. Zelda wasn't certain what Malon was thinking, but she knew that she was doing her best to not look below the surface of the lake. As they drew closer to him, they began to hear music: a gentle, soothing ocarina melody.

The music seemed to wrap itself around them as if trying to comfort them. It was working, also; it felt peaceful out here now, peaceful and safe.

Link stopped not far from them and let the final lingering note fade into the calm night air before putting his ocarina away. Then he just stood there, his eyes closed and his face peaceful.

Zelda knew the song was magical. It had that strange resonance that all the ones she knew did, as if the notes were more than just sound. She didn't know how, but it seemed that Link had just dispelled all of the hate and hurt that had permeated the air before. The lake felt almost sacred now.

"What was that?" Malon asked, her voice soft.

"It's called the Song of Healing." Link was looking towards them now.

"So the lake is...?"

"There is nothing I can do about the corpses, and the ice will have to melt on its own, but... the spirits of those sealed within are now at peace." Link's voice was soft. "The lake will slowly return to the way it was."

"Then... is this over? We don't have to worry about anything bad getting out?"

"The battle is over now; we'll have to wait for the ice to melt before we can do much else for the dead."

No, it wasn't over, not really, Zelda thought, looking at Link's oddly calm face. It was only beginning. The evil threatening Hyrule may have been defeated, but... even leaving aside the fact that Lake Hylia had corpses in it that deserved proper burial, there was still the unanswered questions from the battle. Was Link going to be all right? Was there something he had neglected to mention?

Was that man going to make another attempt on her life in the future?

She decided not to voice those questions yet, instead settling on "Then there will be no evil escaping from this lake? If that is the case, then there is no need for us to remain here."

"No," Link replied. "There isn't any reason to stay here. I'm certain you have things that you need to take care of back at the castle."

Yes, she did; recovering so many bodies would not be easy. This would take careful planning. She knew it was cold of her, but for now she had to think of those poor men as numbers because it wasn't yet time to mourn them. She and the rest of Hyrule could mourn once the men had received a proper burial.

Malon nodded, looking relieved. "Good to know the fighting's over, at least. So, there's not going to be anything coming after us while we sleep, is there?"

"There shouldn't be, no."

"That's good!" She rubbed her shoulder nervously. "So, ah... well, if everything's going to calm down now, I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. We're going to have a lot to do for the next several weeks, right? I don't know about the two of you, but I need some sleep. It's been a very long day. And I'm sure we'll have plenty more long days to come."

"I hope you sleep well," Link said with a small smile. "Good night, Malon."

She waved and started back towards shore.

Zelda waited until Malon was safely out of earshot before asking, "Who was that man Shadow turned into earlier?"

Link turned towards her and sighed, though the odd calm didn't leave his face. "What record exists of him in Termina calls him simply the Fierce Deity. I'm not sure what his real name is." That seemed to amuse him. "I'm sure you have more questions, yes?"

"Yes," she replied, "though I doubt you could answer most."

"Maybe I can. Try me."

"Does this Fierce Deity pose a threat to Hyrule or its people?"

He looked oddly sad for a moment. "I don't know," he said finally, softly.

Zelda decided not to press him about that. For now, she decided, she would just be cautious. "You know this Fierce Deity. How did you meet?"

"I was wearing the Fierce Deity's Mask when I... when I split for the first time. It was during the battle with Majora's Mask."

She frowned. Then it seemed that it was this strange mask that started all of this... "Do you know anything about this mask beyond that?"

He scowled and closed his eyes for a moment before saying slowly, "All I know is that it contains a 'dark power'. Nothing else."

"And you acquired this mask in Termina?"

He nodded.

She remembered him mentioning the mask splitting into two. "Do you have the mask anymore?"

He scowled again. "Yes and no. I don't carry it with me, but I know where I left it."

"And where is it?"

"Termina. I left it buried in a graveyard with... some other gear I didn't feel comfortable carrying with me when I left."

So it seemed that if she wished to find out anything more about this Fierce Deity, his mask, or how Shadow turned into him, she would need to travel to Termina. Her answers would just have to wait.

"Thinking about going to Termina?" he asked.

"For the moment, I believe we have our hands full here, Link." She had to wait; to ensure Hyrule's safety, she had to wait. "Though I must admit I am rather interested in learning more about him, especially how one of your halves can become him."

And, she added to herself, she wanted to know what connection this man had with Link, as well as whether or not this proved dangerous for all involved. Even though she wanted to blame what happened on Shadow's bizarre way of fighting, she couldn't. Shadow had never actually attacked her before; he always recognized her well before that point. This Fierce Deity, whoever or whatever he was, had no problem attempting to kill her...

Link cleared his throat. "We should rest. We have a lot of work ahead of us."

"You're right. We will speak more of this once we return to the castle. Perhaps Impa knows something of this..."

"Maybe." He sounded doubtful, muttering something she couldn't make out. "Back to camp, then?"

xXx

I woke up beside a bed of embers. I sat up slowly, looking first at Zelda and then at Malon, both still asleep. At least the night was a calm one. We all needed that. I glanced out at the lake and smiled. The evil was gone now; maybe things could start going back to the way they were supposed to be.

That thought didn't get rid of the faint scent of dust or the eerie knot in my gut. No, I didn't need to run off to Termina. Hyrule still needed me here.

What was it that voice said last night? "That which was sleeping is no longer buried." What did that mean? I didn't even know if that was supposed to be literal, or if that was some metaphor or something. Zelda could make sense of it, most likely, but... it could wait. She had too much to worry about right now without me making it worse.

Besides, could I even trust myself around Zelda anymore? I couldn't, not until I knew that I wasn't going to do that again. I shook my head. I'd never be able to live with myself if I hurt Zelda or Malon... or anyone else, for that matter.

And this wasn't getting me anywhere. No, I couldn't just sit around and keep thinking like this. I had to do something, anything, to make myself stop dwelling on this.

So I went to check on Epona. She was over by the gates to Hyrule Field with the other horses, contentedly grazing on the grass. I walked over and stroked her mane. She stopped grazing long enough to nudge my side with her muzzle; she didn't seem nervous, at least. It was nice to know she wasn't afraid of me.

"It's okay, girl," I whispered. "We'll be leaving here soon."

"Fairy Boy, where are you?" Malon called from back over by the remains of the fire.

I didn't answer. Instead, I looked down the shore at the pyre. It hadn't burned itself out yet. Of course, it hadn't; there was much to burn, and one night wasn't that much time.

Strange, wasn't it, how one night could seem to be a small eternity, while another seemed to pass in the blink of an eye? The flow of time was fickle that way, seemingly everchanging yet somehow unbreaking in its press forward. I narrowed my eyes.

"He's with the horses, Malon," Zelda replied. She was close. I didn't move; I kept staring towards the pyre, towards the still-burning remnants of the man who'd killed too many. There was no need for the others to stay here... and yet I couldn't leave, not while that pyre was still burning. It was my responsibility to ensure that all trace of Karnon's presence was completely and totally purged from Hyrule. It was because of me that he came here, after all.

"Link, are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"You didn't answer me," Zelda said, stepping closer.

Did she ask more than one question? "What was the question?"

She sighed. "I asked if you were ready to return to the castle."

"I'm going to stay here until both of the fires burn down," I said, "but you and Malon don't need to stay." Part of me wanted to ride back with them, to make certain they were safe, but... it was best I avoided them as much as I could. Besides, after watching them during the battle, I figured there was nothing in Hyrule Field that could pose any real threat to them.

Even so... no, I couldn't ask them to stay here any longer. They didn't deserve to keep seeing this...

"Are you certain?" She looked worried. "We can always --"

"No, go on ahead. There isn't any point in all three of us staying to watch a fire. Besides, I'm sure Impa would like to know you're unhurt."

I expected her to protest, but she didn't. Instead, she nodded slowly, as if lost in thought. "I am certain she is. There are many who need to know about this. You will return to the castle when you can, won't you?"

"Yes."

That question stayed in my thoughts the rest of the day, even after Malon and Zelda had set off for the castle. It had seemed like an innocent enough question when she first asked it, but after spending too much time considering it, I couldn't help but wonder if she thought I wasn't planning on returning. Did she think I was going to run away? Would she rather I _not_ go back?

_What are you so afraid of?_

The latter was a real possibility, after all. I sighed and looked over at the smoldering pyre. It was almost down to nothing now, little more than a massive bed of coals. All the answers I wanted were in Termina; maybe I should leave.

I let myself fall onto my back and stared up at the clear sky. That feeling of losing control was back, stronger than before. I needed answers. I needed to go to Termina. I needed to stay here.

_Are you afraid of her?_

Three months. Yes, that would be enough time to settle things here in Hyrule. I'd stay for three months, and then I'd leave for Termina. It was a compromise, but it was one I was willing to make.

The plan was made, then. I shifted on the dead grass, making myself more comfortable before closing my eyes. I had plenty of work ahead of me in the coming days, after all. And I still felt drained, so I knew I needed the rest.

_Or are you afraid of yourself?_

xXx

_He slept. The day turned into night, and the last of the flames disappeared, leaving only a bed of red-hot coals. The night became day. The coals slowly lost their warmth until they were no more than a massive pile of ash. And still he slept on the lifeless grass, as peaceful in sleep as he was confused in life._

_For four days and three nights he slumbered beside the bed of ash because there was no one to wake him. On the fourth day, the first people returned to the lake to survey the true extent of the damage. Those men were so distracted by the frozen and broken lake that they almost missed the two men laying side-by-side near a bed of ash, asleep._

_Impa woke the two of him up to make his future._


	16. Chapter 11: Falling Away

_Author's notes: Hurray! This has taken a long time, but here's the final chapter... well, of this story anyway. The over-arching story is planned out as a trilogy, so this is really just the first part. Also, the last of the revised chapters are being put up as part of this update, so this will be the last update for this story._

_A__nyway, a very big thank you to everyone who's read this story, and another thank you to all of my reviewers. I'm sorry this took so long, and I'm going to try and not take so incredibly long to get the other stories up. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy._

* * *

Three months. The time seemed to last a small eternity and yet, somehow, they flew past in a heartbeat. The task of retrieving the dead from the thawing lake had been slow, tedious, and draining work, but finally it was complete. The last body had been pulled free of the slush as the first leaves began to fall.

Not all of the dead had been knights. Some were farmers or travelers, people even less prepared to defend themselves than the knights. It bothered him a lot to know innocent people had died. The knights, at least, had known beforehand that something wasn't right; they had even a tiny bit of warning about the danger.

One of the first bodies recovered was the Professor's; Link was the one who pulled him free. Link didn't look at faces after that, too terrified that he'd find someone else he knew. He tried to think of the bodies as just that, bodies, but his mind knew the truth: all had been alive. All had friends and family, names and homes.

His thoughts often turned to Termina, perhaps to cope, calling up memories of a Professor busy in his lab, not covered in bloody ice with his face forever frozen in wide-eyed terror. Even so, his thoughts brought him little comfort. They brought nightmares of their own, ghosts of the fallen and memories of times and things that now existed only in his mind. He'd grown strangely accustomed to that, to carrying around memories of nightmares that no one else remembered because he'd reset everything back to the way it was supposed to be.

But he couldn't turn back the clock on this, no matter how much he wished he could. It was over, now. The threat defeated; the dead recovered; even the ice had melted away. It was over, except for a dead, hollow wind and the scent of dust and blood that kept calling him, howling and screaming words he could never quite make out.

Link knew he couldn't stay.

His battle wasn't over yet.

**Fade to Black  
****Chapter Eleven: Falling Away**

All of the colorful banners and flags that normally flew in Castletown were gone, replaced with deep black swaths of fabric. The usual din of the market was much, much more restrained today, the streets mostly empty.

Hyrule was in mourning.

I leaned back against the side of the alley and sighed. I couldn't blame myself for this, much as I might wish to. All of this had been one massive misunderstanding, a complete and total accident... and people were dead because of it. I kept playing it all over and over in my head, trying to find something I'd missed - trying to find someone to blame.

Karnon's family had thought we were monsters, and they'd acted accordingly. When Time got pinned, he panicked, and when he panicked, Shadow just snapped. And once Shadow snapped, there wasn't much that could stop him.

Karnon wanted revenge for his family's deaths. I couldn't fault him for trying to avenge them, but... He hadn't just tried to kill me. He'd killed a lot of people to fuel his hunger for vengeance, people with no connection to me other than living in Hyrule... Why? Did he enjoy killing that much?

_After a point, killing becomes easy._

I tensed at the voice, keeping my gaze leveled at the crowd making its way towards the Temple. Killing _wasn't _easy.

_Yes, it is. Look at them. You could kill them all if you wanted. _You're _the one who makes the distinction between "human" and "monster." Not your blade. Not your skill._

I stared at the crowd, realizing to my horror that he had a point. None of the people in front of me were armed. It would be pathetically easy, almost, to slice my way through them. But they were _people._ I didn't attack people, _ever_, unless I was attacked first.

"Do you?" I muttered.

_There is but one distinction: ally or enemy._

"Is that why you were trying to kill my friends?" I hissed, stepping deeper into the alley before someone heard me.

_That... was a misunderstanding._

A bell tolled in the distance, the note echoing through town.

I rubbed my temples. A misunderstanding? True, the battle had been chaotic, and we'd all made mistakes - Malon had swung at me, after all - but _still_...

"Could it happen again?" I needed to know. If I was ever going to be able to trust myself around Zelda again, I needed to know.

No answer.

The bell tolled again. I decided I didn't want to be anywhere near here right now. I pulled the Ocarina from my pouch and played the first song that came to mind: the Serenade of Water.

Three months removed from Karnon's dark magic had served the lake well. It looked almost like it used to. I could almost pretend the last few months hadn't happened. Almost. I stepped off the stone platform, splitting the instant my boot touched the grass.

"It's really getting back to normal, isn't it...?" Shadow said softly.

"Yes, it is."

For a while, we both stood there, looking out over the lake.

"Do you think we can trust him?" Shadow asked, finally.

"I don't know. He hasn't tried anything since, but..." This was the first time we'd split since the battle. That strange _something_ that had been there at the edge of Link's perception since the battle wasn't there now; had it split with us?

"Maybe he didn't realize Zelda and Malon were on our side. He doesn't know them, after all."

"Maybe. You sound awfully trusting."

Shadow hung his head. "If he hadn't taken control of me like that, you... you'd all be dead."

I scowled. "And if I hadn't jumped in the way, he'd have killed Malon and Zelda!" That was all I could focus on. He had nearly killed two of the people I cared most about. He was still somehow in my head - in _me_? - and I didn't have any idea how to handle that, or even who he really was.

"'That which was sleeping is no longer buried,'" Shadow whispered; I barely heard him. "What do you think that means?"

I took a deep breath. "I think that would depend on how wrapped in metaphor that is."

He stared off into the distance and didn't answer.

I didn't have one either, and that was the problem. Link had "buried" many things over his double life: emotions, Ganondorf, all manner of monsters, Majora, Mikau...

_Masks!_ Shadow's voice called in my head. _We buried the masks!_

Yes, we did. The masks and all the pieces of our old equipment that we decided against carrying with us - not so much because we wouldn't need them but because we didn't want to attract attention in strange lands - were in a old trunk buried in one of the corners of the Ikana Graveyard. At the time, it had only seemed fitting to lay the masks to rest in the graveyard. Besides, if anyone noticed the disturbed earth, he or she would likely think it was just another burial.

Was that it? Had someone dug up the masks?

"Maybe," Shadow replied softly; I must've been thinking loud enough for him to hear. "Someone has to keep the Curiousity Shop stocked up - someone might've decided to turn grave robber and found our trunk."

"True. And we can consider those four masks to be 'sleeping', considering the nature of their power." I shook my head, part of my mind tracking the white fringe of my hair as it swayed back and forth. "Even so, while that isn't something I want to happen, I don't see why it would make us so uneasy. I don't know about you, Shadow, but I have a very bad feeling about all of this."

"I do, too." He turned to look at me. "Well, we're just going to have to go find out."

I met his gaze and scowled, not so much at him as at the long, blood-red line curving along his left cheek. "When did you get _that_?"

"Get what?"

"You've got a mark on your face."

"I do?" He ran for the water's edge, staring down at his reflection. After a moment, one hand reached up and ever-so-slightly brushed the red curve on his skin. "When did I get this?"

I turned away. "It must have appeared after the battle at the lake. We haven't split since then, and I know you didn't have it before." Warpaint. It was part of the Fierce Deity's warpaint. Why was it on Shadow's face?

No, I knew the answer: because Shadow had become the Fierce Deity at the lake. Apparently at least some of what had transformed him was still present. Had he incorporated that power into him? It seemed so; why else would he have that mark?

Was he even still Shadow?

"Of course I am," he snapped, whirling around to glare at me. "Who else would I be? Just because I have one of his damned marks doesn't make me him!"

"Perhaps not, but you were able to turn into him during the battle. That implies -"

"That implies _what_? That I'm some murderous bastard? That's cold as ice even for you!" He narrowed his eyes.

"I am merely saying that we need to be careful."

He stalked towards me; I took a small step back. "Oh, sure. That's easy for you to say - you're just as judgmental as both of those damned women, aren't you?" He moved then, grabbing my collar and yanking me close. "Why don't you just kill me, then?"

"You know I can't do that."

"You could if you really wanted to," he snarled, his eyes piercing through mine. "Now, are we going to Termina, or are we going to sit here while you try to put all the pieces together?"

"We can't go in without a plan."

"We've done it before."

I closed my eyes and sighed. "And we see where that has gotten us, don't we?"

He yelled and shoved me back; I staggered and fell, but he moved with me, pinning to me to the ground. "We're alive, aren't we?"

"By luck, not skill," I said flatly. "Our luck won't last forever, Shadow."

"All right then, what's the plan?"

I just stared up at him. "I don't know."

He growled and shoved me again before standing up. "So, _what_? You expect me to just sit here while you take however damned long you feel like to come up with a plan?"

I shook my head. "That won't get us anywhere. As I said, we need to be careful. We cannot rush this." At that, I gave him a flat stare. "After all, remember what happened last time you insisted on running off on your own."

"Are you saying this is all my fault?"

"All I am saying is that you didn't help things by running off!"

"Oh, so you're saying you would've preferred having me in right next to you when all those Stalfos rushed you at once? That's nice; we could have died together, couldn't we?"

"Shadow!"

"No! You listen to _me_!" He straddled my legs and pinned me down, grabbing my collar and pulling me close. "Yeah, I was an idiot for not waiting, but can you blame me? And no, I don't have an explanation either - but the truth is that the Fierce Deity saved _all of us. _Okay, things went wrong after that, but would you have rather been buried under an army of bones?"

No. Dying was dying; the exact method didn't matter. "Very well, then. What is _your_ plan?"

He climbed off of me and walked away, silent. I took the chance to sit up; he was standing near the edge of the water, staring out across the lake.

"We go to Termina," he finally replied. "And once we get there, we ask around. Go talk to the old astronomer or something. There has to be someone in Termina who knows something about this Fierce Deity."

"And if no one does?"

"We can still figure out what's going on with the masks. Maybe even get a clue where to go after that..." He closed his eyes for a moment. _But we won't have to worry about that. The answers are in Termina._

I stared at his back. _What makes you so sure?_

"I've got a feeling," he said softly, turning back towards me. Shadow looked tired. "I can't explain it any better than that, but I've got a feeling. Trust me, okay?"

"I do. I don't know if I can trust him, but I trust you." I shook my head.

He smiled weakly and then walked over to sit down next to me. "That's really all I can ask for, I guess. We'll figure this out. I know we will."

I nodded and closed my eyes, relaxing somewhat.

"Okay, then. First things first, we'll need to see what is and what isn't still buried in the graveyard. Maybe ask Dampe if he's seen anything..."

When I opened my eyes again, I was Link. I just sat there for a long time on the grass, staring out at the lake. I was trying to memorize it, to sear its sight and sound and scent into my soul. I didn't know if I would ever be back. If I couldn't find answers, if I couldn't find assurance that I... If I couldn't trust myself, I could never return. I couldn't put any place I cared for in danger. I would rather languish forgotten in some hidden place than put anyone in any more danger.

I couldn't face Zelda, not like this...

_Sitting there isn't getting you anywhere._

"You shut up," I muttered. "This is all your fault."

The voice didn't respond for a while; when it finally did, it was soft, a mere whisper deep in my mind. _Would you rather have died?_

"Shouldn't you already know that answer?" I snapped.

This just kept getting worse. Every day, that damned voice got just a little clearer, that strange presence in my mind just a little more distinct. The feeling was eerily similar to the one I'd had when Time and Shadow had first started making themselves known, only... no, it wasn't quite the same. Time and Shadow were mixed in with Link and always had been - I'd learned how to tell one part's thoughts from the others' - whereas _this_ presence was distinct and separate, watching from some previously empty part of my head.

And yet, neither half felt that presence. That seemed to imply that whatever it was, it split between them as Link did, but...

I reached up and rubbed at my cheek, trying to wipe off something that wasn't there right now. I didn't even really know if I could trust the Fierce Deity, and especially after what happened during the battle... He'd saved my life more than once - he'd saved all of Termina through me, and yet... he'd nearly killed Malon and Zelda.

As much as I wanted to hate him, maybe Shadow was right... It was entirely possible that he _had_ mistaken them for enemies. How many times had I heard a noise or seen something move out of the corner of my eye and gone for my sword? How many times had I inadvertantly drawn steel towards someone I knew? It seemed I was perpetually on edge, the side effect of all the battles I'd seen.

Could I truly fault a warrior for acting like a _warrior_? No.

That didn't mean I was going to risk another misunderstanding. I had to leave, had to return to Termina, both to find answers and figure out why I _had_ to return to Ikana.

Perhaps returning to the dead canyon was best. There were many people I cared about in Termina, but none of them... I sighed. _No._ The Fierce Deity could kill the people of Termina as easily as he could Zelda and Malon. I wasn't willing to put them at risk, yet...

Shadow's way of fighting, the Fierce Deity's attack... They were incredibly similar. Why was that? It was almost as if they both gave in entirely to their bloodlust. Shadow had gone after Time before, too blind by his battle fury to realize that all of their enemies were dead. He needed to keep fighting, and he did until Time fought him to a stalemate and finally calmed him down.

That was the explanation, wasn't it?

_Your sword has two edges, as does mine. It is a very dangerous thing to live by, Link. You should understand that far better than most others._

I drew my sword and held it up, watching the afternoon sun gleam off the blade. The voice was right; this sword could kill me as easily as it killed monsters. "You're right. I won't risk hurting her."

_Then fight alone._

I sheathed my blade and stood up. That was it. Time could calm Shadow down if the need arose again, and the Fierce Deity _protected _me. I could keep the real reason for returning to Termina a secret, and if I chose my battles, there would be no one around to hurt.

I couldn't tell Zelda. I didn't know what she thought about me or if she even still trusted me or not - I'd spent the last three months as far from her as possible - and there was always the chance that she would insist on fighting with me again. And even if I was willing to let her fight with me, she was the princess. Hyrule needed her far, far more than I ever could.

But I couldn't just disappear... A letter. I'd leave a letter for her, and by the time she found it and read it, I would be too far gone for her to try and chase me down. Yes, that would work. I wouldn't feel like I was running away, but I would also guarantee that I wouldn't be followed...

I nodded to myself and took one long, final look at Lake Hylia, and then I pulled out the Ocarina and warped to the Temple of Time. I had supplies to gather.

xXx

"You're not about to back out of this, are you? This is Link's idea, you know."

Time sighed and stared out the window. "I know. I'm just worried about what we might find when we get to Termina."

I scowled. I knew what he was getting at; the last time we felt called anywhere, Lake Hylia was a massive chunk of corpse-filled magical ice.

"That which was sleeping is no longer buried," I replied, pulling my pack on. "We have a place to start."

"As well as a basic idea what the problem might be," he said with a small nod. "I still don't like the idea of trouble. It's bad enough that we had to deal with Karnon..."

"Yeah, well, apparently the ghosts of our past don't want to stay buried. Lucky us, huh?"

He sighed again and turned to me, staring at the mark on my face.

I reached up and rubbed at it. "Look, I know it's there. I don't need you to remind me."

"I know. It still gets my attention." He pulled a folded sheet of paper out of one of his pouches and held it up - the letter Link had written earlier. "May as well get going."

"Yeah." It wasn't dawn yet, but the eastern sky was starting with glow with the beginning of morning twilight. It was only a matter of time before some servant or another came by to wake us up.

Time set the letter on the desk and blew out the lamp. Meanwhile, I walked over to the door and made sure it was locked. Sure, we weren't the only ones with a key to that lock, but that was the point. This wasn't to hide our departure, only buy us a little bit of time.

"I'm ready," I said, walking over to where Time stood in the middle of the room. "Are you?"

"Yes, I am."

I held on to his arm as he played... and we were in the Sacred Forest Meadow. The Lost Woods connected all kinds of places, all kinds of _worlds._ Those with no guide or destination were doomed to wander until there was nothing left of them but wandering bones - which did make me wonder how Link ever got to Termina in the first place; maybe the Woods sensed his strength and gave him a path? But that was why those lost in the Woods became Stalfos. Those without the strength of will to create their path instead followed the path created by the Woods and fell prey to it.

_But,_ for people who had a destination and the willpower to stay on course, the Woods were a powerful gateway. Time and I had found these Woods - or, rather, forests like them - in strange places before, and they'd always guided us true to the place we had in mind.

This would be no different.

I looked around, stepping down off the stone dais. Since we were here now, there was only one question left. "Us or Link?"

"Link," Time replied. "He deserves one last look."

I shrugged. I didn't really see what was so special about Hyrule, but... I knew how much I missed Termina, so I understood the sentiment. "All right, then." I looked over at Time and grinned. "Then I'll see you in Termina."

He nodded. "In Termina, then." And we merged.

I stood there for a while, not moving, watching the fairy-lights dance around beneath the trees. I wish I could stay and wander around, see what Hyrule had become without those seven years of terror under Ganon, but... I sighed and shook my head; my hair seemed almost brown in the pre-dawn light. Maybe one day I'd be able to come back and do exactly that, but for now... for now I had other things I had to deal with. I had other places I had to be.

It just wasn't fair, really, to be this close and yet so far.

_Such is the price of duty._

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I didn't expect to hear that sort of thing from you."

_We all have our duties. It is up to each of us to decide whether or not we are willing to fulfill them or not._

"Did you?" It was a little cold and very personal, but I felt I had to ask. I had to know.

_Yes, I did, but in doing so, I sacrificed many things... including some I wish I had back._

"I think I understand," I said softly. From what I'd seen in my wanderings, the shift from child to adult was supposed to be gradual; people were supposed to have time to adjust to it. Mine, however, had been anything but gradual. I'd spent more of my life feeling too old for my body than I had being comfortable in it.

This... none of this was accomplishing anything. I was just wasting time that I didn't even know for certain I had. For all I knew, Zelda had already found that letter and was on her way to track me down - and I couldn't see her, not like this!

I took one last deep breath of heartachingly familar forest air, and then I shrugged my gear higher onto my shoulders and started walking. It didn't take long for the familiar disorientation to start; everything around me seemed to grow more and more hazy except for the path before me.

I wasn't worried. I knew where I was going, after all: a massive clock tower rising above a city in the center of a mighty land once threatened by an evil mask and a looming moon... And so I kept walking until the ground felt different and the air smelled different and I could hear the faint, echoing sound of a clock ticking far in the distance.

And I knew I wasn't in Hyrule anymore.

xXx

_Princess, _

_I am sorry I cannot tell you this in person, but I know I cannot. By the time you read this, I will be on my way to Termina. There is something very important that I must deal with there. I don't know when I will return._

_Please, don't worry about me. I will be all right, but this time, I must fight alone._

_Take care of yourself, Princess. Hyrule needs you._

_Link_


End file.
